Camp Half-Blood Wins
by Josh SB
Summary: When Artemis sends the hunters to Camp Half-Blood, Thalia expects nothing but fun in the sun, despite her new, terrible hairdo. But a capture-the-flag game ends in chaos and bloodshed, accusations are levelled and things quickly spiral out of control. Thalia and Co soon realise that sinister forces are at work, trying to destroy the relationship between the hunt and Camp Half-Blood
1. Chapter 1

"But my Lady, we hate it there!"

"I know, I know," Artemis's smile was part placatory, part amusement. "But it's the best I can do. You know you can't stay out here by yourselves. It's not safe."

"Why not?" Lanesra crossed her arms stubbornly. She swept an arm out towards the hunters' camp. "Do you see anything unsafe?"

The half-dozen hunters in view gave a collective hiss as Artemis turned in their direction, raising an assortment of bladed weapons in clenched fists. Several wolves howled in unison.

"Quite the ensemble," Artemis glanced at her Second Lieutenant. "How long had you been planning that for?"

"Not at all," Lanesra replied. "It just comes naturally. We're your hunters."

"As does eavesdropping." Artemis gazed at her hunters affectionately, feeling like a mother who'd just witnessed her childrens' ridiculously funny performance.

"Nothing unsafe," Lanesra insisted. "We're perfectly fine on our own."

Artemis's smile widened as her eyes focused on something in the distance. "Oh, I can think of _one_ thing."

Lanesra followed her gaze to see Thalia saunter out of a tent, grinning like the cat who'd got the cheese.

"Someone's in a good mood," Artemis said.

"That's how it always starts." Lanesra groaned.

"Thalia!" Artemis hailed her.

Thalia strolled over, rubbing her hands gleefully.

"What did you do this time?" Lanesra asked.

"You'll see," Thalia's smile widened. She turned to watch the tent she'd emerged from.

A moment later there was the loud _CRACK_ of a firecracker _._ Someone screamed, then two hunters burst out of the tent, gasping, their hands over their chests.

"Thalia!" one screamed as she spotted her.

"What?" Thalia's face was a picture of innocence.

"I'll get you!" the second girl yelled, waving her fist in the air as she marched towards her.

Thalia darted behind Artemis, using the goddess as a human shield. "My Lady, save me!" she said in a scared voice.

Artemis vanished and reappeared several metres away, looking amused.

Thalia tried to cower behind Lanesra, but the Second Lieutenant was having none of it, grabbing Thalia and shoving her towards the fuming girl. "Get her, Cynthia!"

Thalia, having run out of options, dropped into a wrestling stance. "Come and get me."

Cynthia charged forward, aiming to get Thalia around the waist. Thalia spun out of the way, but Cynthia managed to grab a fistful of Thalia's shirt. Cynthia's momentum dragged them both off balance, but her lower center of gravity meant that she recovered faster. As Thalia tried to right herself, Cynthia spun around and grabbed Thalia around the neck.

But as soon as her hand connected with Thalia there was a loud fizzling _POP._ Cynthia screamed and recoiled like she'd been stung. Her eyeballs were shuddering in their sockets as she backed hastily away.

"What's the matter?" Thalia asked smugly. "I thought you wanted a piece of me."

"Not really," Cynthia shrugged, grinning. "I was just the distraction."

Hunters jumped as a bright pink paintball hit the back of Thalia's head with a powerful _SPLAT._ Thalia howled as a second and third shot hit her between her shoulderblades, collapsing to the ground as pink paint streamed down her face.

"Looooooser," Cynthia taunted as all the hunters busted out laughing. "Gotcha!"

Lanesra made a face as the paint fumes reached her nose, then frowned as she recognised the smell. "Isn't this Marking Paint?"

Marking Paint was the name of the ammunition they used when hunting elusive creatures. It was made from magical dye that couldn't be washed off or coloured.

Artemis stifled a laugh. "You didn't."

Thalia's eyes widened as she realised most of her entire body was now a fluorescent pink. She shoved herself off the ground. "I'll kill you!" she howled.

Two more paintballs smacked into her back. Even from a distance the shots could knock you down. At close range the rounds were powerful enough to leave bruises and Thalia screamed as she collapsed back onto the ground.

"Suck it up, _lieutanent,_ " Cynthia laughed and gave Lanesra a high five. "You messed with the wrong hunter."

"Stand up slowly if you value the rest of that tan," the shooter, Penny, stared her down behind the sight of her paintball gun.

Thalia stood slowly, groaning. Her back was killing her and she gestured feebly with her hands as she straightened. "Get me some nectar."

Lanesra pulled a vial from her pocket and handed it to her.

"Well," Artemis clapped her hands together. "That was _so_ entertaining that I think we could use an all-night march. Now get ready to break camp. I want you in Camp Half-Blood by tomorrow morning."


	2. Chapter 2

Despite hating Camp Half-Blood the hunters were all smiles as they hiked up Half-Blood Hill towards the large pine tree that marked the border. Giggles broke out every minute as gleeful hunters pictured Thalia's enraged expression at her newly-pink hair.

Despite being in the middle of winter the girls were dressed in silvery t-shirts and shorts. Camp Half-Blood's magical borders kept the weather toasty-summery all year long and all of them planned to hit the beach as soon as they arrived. Well, _almost_ all of them.

Thalia marched at the head of the group, not because she was their Lieutenant, but because every single one of them had bunched up behind her, pushing and prodding her onward every step of the way. Unlike the rest of her companions she was dressed in a black hooded jacket and black jeans, with a matching scowl lining her usually placid features. A plain black cap shadowed her face and only the silver Lieutenants' tiara perched on top of the cap marked her as one of the group. She was still fuming from the paintball attack the day before and not even the prospect of meeting Percy and Annabeth could break her dark mood.

Peleus the dragon lifted his head from around the trunk of the pine tree as the band of girls approached, steam curling from his nostrils as he regarded them warily. The hunters held no fear of him, but all the same gave the tree a wide berth as they crested the hill. The dragon shifted once and then settled back onto the snow, content to watch the hunters as they passed.

"Cabin Eight," Thalia told Lanesra. "You know the way?"

"Of course." Lanesra scoffed. "I've been coming here before you were born."

"I'm off to meet my friends," Thalia turned to the rest of the group. _Don't_ make any trouble."

"Yes, mother," The Second Lieutenant rolled her eyes.

Thalia marched towards the sword arena, where she knew Percy and Annabeth would be conducting classes. The hunters ambled in the opposite direction towards the cabins. Lanesra deliberately stayed at the back of the group, watching Thalia's receeding figure, then when she was satisfied the daughter of Zeus was out of earshot she turned to the group. They were all waiting.

"Right." Lanesra broke into a wicked smile as she pounded her fist into her palm. "Here's what we're going to do…"

If the campers had been hoping for a peaceful Christmas it was long gone. The Hunters of Artemis had arrived and Camp Half-Blood would be turned upside down by the time they were done.

Thalia ignored the mixed stares from demigods as she marched across Camp. Being dressed in all black was bad enough, but the temperature inside Camp Half-Blood was close to twenty-seven degrees celsius. Everyone else was in orange t-shirts and shorts and she felt like a goth mannequin for autumn wear compared to the other campers. Thalia clenched her jaw as she felt sweat trickling down her back, thinking of the bright pink underneath. Her cap already felt soggy and she knew she'd need a shower before lunch just to keep things fresh.

"New camper?" A tall seventeen-year-old sidled up to her, a group of his friends a few paces behind.

Thalia gave him a glance. Good looking, confident and athletic. She'd dealt with his kind a thousand times before in shopping malls.

"Not really," she answered. "I've been here before."

"Don't think I know your face," he said. "What's your name?"

Thalia noticed a group of other boys trailing behind them and groaned internally as she realised she'd made a mistake. No boy would have dared to take a shot at her if she was wearing the hunters' trademark camouflage. She was already in a bad mood and decided to lash out.

"I date _men_ , not schoolboys."

"Burn!" The boy turned bright red as all the other guys cracked up laughing.

"Suit yourself," he said, trying to salvage whatever shreds of dignity he could. "It's a big place, is all I'm saying. Friends can come in handy if you happen to wander into the wrong place."

"She's got friends." A new voice made Thalia turn and her eyes widened as she caught sight of the speaker.

"Hunters of Artemis." Nico di Angelo's voice was sour. "Big group just arrived. You want to keep your distance if you want to avoid getting a concussion on Friday."

The boys backed up fast, evidence that Nico's reputation had not changed since the last Thalia had heard of him.

"Seriously?" The boy's casual demeanour had evaporated like morning mist. "Look, I'm sorry." he said to Thalia. "I just wanted to be friendly, you know?"

Thalia lost it.

"Why don't you just piss off already?" she yelled. Thunder boomed, making the boys jump. Her bow appeared in her hands, arrow nocked. "I'm _this_ close to putting an arrow in your fat head."

The boy turned and bolted so fast could have rivalled Usain Bolt for speed. His friends were only slightly slower.

"Bad day?" Nico asked wryly. "Or didn't sleep?" He smiled knowingly, a rare smile.

"You want to get shot?" Thalia rounded on him.

"Both then." Nico deduced, unfazed by the threat of an arrow.

"Damned boys and their damned ego," Thalia snarled. " _So_ annoying."

"You forget I'm right next to you." Despite Thalia's fast stride Nico kept up with her effortlessly.

"Don't remind me," Thalia growled.

"If you weren't so pretty, this wouldn't have happened." He seemed to be getting a kick out of winding Thalia up.

Thalia thought about landing her fist into the centre of that sardonic expression, but knew it would only give him greater satisfaction. She could never touch him anyway, and besides, it was Nico. Even in her worst of moods she wasn't fool enough to try.

"If you're looking for Percy and Annabeth," Nico smiled again, like he knew what she'd been thinking. "They're not in combat class. They had a bad night so Chiron let them sleep in. You want Cabin Two. Poseidon's."

Thalia gave a grudging nod, turned on her heel, then stopped. "They?"

Nico's smile widened. "Yes. They sleep together now."

Thalia's eyes widened to the size of ping-pong balls. "They-"

"It's nothing like that." Nico scoffed. "You hunters are always barking up that tree."

"Then…" Thalia was too lost in her thoughts to register the barb. Annabeth had a clearer head than the entire hunt put together. The information didn't make sense.

Nico's expression turned guarded so fast that Thalia was taken aback. "You aren't the same after being through Tartarus. It's been hard on them." He turned to leave. "Knock down the door if they're too deep asleep."

He vanished in a swirl of darkness, leaving Thalia still gaping into space.

"Annabeth!" Thalia hammered on the door of the Poseidon cabin, cursing the sea god's stone architecture that was making her fist hurt. She drew one of her knives and pounded the door with the pommel. "Percy! Wake up, you seaweed brain!"

Still no response. Thalia thought about breaking a window.

Then the door cracked open.

"Thalia?" Annabeth blinked sleepily at her. "What are you _wearing_?"

 _I'm doomed,_ Thalia thought. Annabeth was a bloodhound once she smelled a rat. "Hey," She smiled, trying to ignore the sweat trickling down her neck. "Long time no see."

Thalia thanked her stars they bought her story (I met an _arai,_ it hit me with a cold spell!). Annabeth must have had a _really_ bad night. She was usually great at sniffing out lies.

Thalia was concerned as she took in her friend's appearance more closely. Annabeth had worse panda eyes than anyone Thalia had ever seen. She looked awake, but Thalia noticed her piercing grey eyes were dull with exhaustion. Percy wasn't any better. Tartarus had clearly taken a bigger toll than she'd realised.

"You look terrible," she told them.

Percy smiled faintly. "We're getting by."

His stomach said otherwise. It growled loudly.

"Isn't it lunch yet?" he wondered out loud. "I'm starving."

"Seaweed Brain, you had a _massive_ stack of pancakes." Annabeth reminded him.

"That was yesterday." Percy corrected. "Today we missed breakfast."

Annabeth frowned. "Did we?" She knuckled her eyes. "Ugh. I can't even think straight anymore."

"Maybe you should rest." Thalia suggested. "I can bring some food over."

Annabeth shook her head. "I've been cooped up for too long." She stood and stretched. "I'm thinking a shower." She turned to Percy. "Join me?"

" _What?_ " Thalia yelled.

"You want me to-" Percy began.

Annabeth turned bright red. "I meant to ask if you were going to have one as well."

"Of course." Percy stood and started after her.

"There's only _one_ shower," Thalia pointed out.

Both of them froze.

"You go first." Annabeth said. "I'll wait."

Thalia waited as Percy disappeared inside and the bathroom door slammed. The moment she heard the water start running she rounded on Annabeth. "Spill."

"What?" Annabeth yawned.

"You sleep together-" Thalia began.

"In different beds," Annabeth countered, pointing to the messy bunk beside Percy's.

" _Shower_ together,-" Thalia persisted.

"I misspoke!" Annabeth protested.

"Did you?" Thalia folded her arms over her chest. "I call bullshit."

The two girls stared each other down.

"You're fully awake now, aren't you?" Thalia said, trying to keep her voice steady.

Annabeth's lips twitched. Thalia felt her own face crease. Both of them dissolved into laughter.

"I…forgot how much of a riot you are." Annabeth wiped tears from her eyes.

The bathroom door clicked and Percy stepped out, hair wet from his shower. "You're next," he said to Annabeth, then noticed them. "What did I miss?"

"Nothing," Thalia waved a hand at him. "Nothing at all."

"I forgot how great the food is." Thalia mumbled through a mouthful of barbecued ribs.

"Me too," Percy agreed, shovelling spaghetti and meatballs into his mouth. He was on his second plate in five minutes. Thalia was convinced his gullet had blender blades. There was no other explanation.

Annabeth rolled her eyes.

Thalia opened her mouth to respond, then frowned as a shadow fell over her plate. She turned around to see Lanesra and Cynthia smiling down at her.

"What?" she said irritably.

"Nothing," Lanesra said innocently. "Only…"

Before Thalia could react Cynthia yanked her hood down and pulled her cap off.

"It looks even more luminous than last night," Lanesra commented.

Both hunters stepped backwards as Thalia shot furiously out of her seat. "You wanna mess with me?"

The dining pavilion fell abruptly silent as everyone turned to gape at the daughter of Zeus. Thalia's pink hair seemed to glow in the afternoon sun. By the head table, Chiron the centaur stifled a laugh.

Thalia realised she'd made a mistake. If she had remained seated only a few people would have noticed. By standing and yelling she had practically announced her hair to the entire camp. She felt the campers' attention on her like beams of heat. The hunters collectively burst into laughter and, in that moment, her temper snapped.

Lanesra dived out of the way as Thalia tried to shove her. A howl of fury escaped Thalia's lips as she leaped the bench and pulled her spear from behind her back.

Thunder boomed so loudly that the cutlery rattled. Cynthia threw herself across the Poseidon table as a bolt of lightning lashed out from the tip of Thalia's spear, blasting the spot she'd previously been.

"Cool it," Cynthia collected herself, rolled, and sprang athletically to her feet. Percy's spaghetti and meatballs was now a massive stain down the side of her t-shirt. "It's just a prank."

"HEY!" Percy, who was still starving, waved his spoon furiously at her. "That was my breakfast!"

Cynthia gave him a glance. "So?"

A jug of water on Percy's left lifted into the air, splashing Cynthia in the face. The hunter gasped as she stumbled backwards, almost slipping on the wet floor.

"Jerk!" Cynthia growled.

The spaghetti and water had given Thalia an idea. She summoned the wind spirits, giving them mental orders as a wicked smile spread across her face.

"You think that was funny?" She climbed a table, pointing her spear at the hunters' table.

"Pinkie Pie," a hunter called.

"I'll show you," Thalia snarled. "Get them!" she ordered the wind spirits.

A half-dozen bowls of condiments and sauces shot towards the hunters' table like artillery shells. Barbecue and spaghetti sauce dive-bombed the girls, splattering them in sweet-spicy brown and red. Hunters threw themselves out of their seats as a barrage of every condiment imaginable from sesame seeds to croutons rained down on them.

The hunters were thrown into chaos. Some summoned their bows and tried shooting the condiment bowls out of the air, but the wind spirits blew the arrows out of the air. Others tried to shield themselves with their trays.

Thalia twirled her finger, causing the winds to swirl around the hunters' table like a tornado. Flying sauce and garnishings pelted the girls at a hundred miles an hour. The rest of the campers laughed as they watched the hunters stagger back and fourth, holding trays ineffectively in front of their face.

"You look _much_ better now," an Apollo camper teased.

"Thalia!" Chiron shouted, giving her his trademark _you'd better stop or you're on kitchen duty_ look. "You-" An off-target splash of barbecue sauce splattered his face, cutting him off.

One flying bowl got a little too close to Lanesra and she smacked it away with her tray. Meatballs and tomato sauce whipped into a row of Aphrodite campers like a shotgun blast, shocking them into silence.

"Did you just-" one gasped.

"You ruined my hair!" another wailed. He grabbed a meatball and threw it back. The whole cabin started screaming and throwing dips, condiments and whatever food they could get their hands on.

The hunters retaliated as best as they could, but their usually deadly aim was spoiled by the wind and most of the stuff hit the other campers instead.

"STOP THIS AT ONCE!" Chiron yelled, but went unnoticed amidst the escalating chaos.

Annabeth, who until now had been only watching the spectacle while eating lunch, swore and ducked as some sesame seeds hit the side of her face. Her brother Malcolm picked a sprig of parsley off her shoulder as she shook seeds out of her hair.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" He grinned at her.

"Those girls need to be put in their place." Annabeth declared. The Athena cabin cheered as their head counsellor climbed onto the table and brandished her spoon at the hunters.

"FOOD FIGHT!"

If it had been messy before, it was nothing compared to what happened next.

Campers surged out of their seats as food flew in every direction. Percy swept his steak knife in an arc and two cauldrons of soup exploded out towards the hunters, splattering everyone between the soup table and the teenage girls.

Nico di Angelo took that exact moment to materialise in the middle of the pavilion. A wave of minestrone caught him in the face and he sat down hard, spluttering.

"Tasty," he muttered, then laughed out loud at the chaos all around him.

The Athena campers, led by Annabeth, took control of the serving table, strategically commandeering the bulk of the day's ammunition. All the sleepiness had gone from Annabeth. Her eyes were alert as she scanned the pavilion and rapped orders to her siblings, organising volleys of blueberries and grapes.

"Fire!" she yelled, then gasped as an entire roast chicken filled her vision. She staggered a few steps then righted herself, glaring around.

"Who did that?"

"Wasn't me," Malcolm shrugged, his hands covered in roast chicken sauce. "Maybe one of the Ares kids." His lips were twitching as he fought not to laugh.

Annabeth slammed his head onto the table and emptied a bottle of ketchup on him.

Thalia stared at the carnage she'd caused, half amused, half incredulous that things had escalated into such a big mess.

"You're unbelievable," Percy told her.

Thalia laughed in response. "I missed this place."

A shadow fell over her. She turned to see Chiron towering over her, a distinctly unpleasant look on his face.

"Thalia," he said. "You are in _so_ much trouble."

Before she could react he shoved his bowl of strawberry and yogurt into her face.

Thalia collapsed onto her bench, choking on a slice of strawberry. She swiped yogurt from her eyes to see Chiron staring down at her, eyes twinkling mischievously. "It's good to have you back, my dear girl."


	3. Chapter 3

"It isn't funny," Thalia growled.

Annabeth howled with laughter as tears streamed from her eyes. "My sides are killing me," she gasped, curled into a ball on her bunk.

" _Stop_ laughing." Thalia pounded her fist into her palm. "Or I'll deck you." It was an empty threat considering who she was speaking to.

"I…can't." Annabeth managed to get out. "Too…funny."

On the next bed, Percy, who was actually afraid of Thalia, was biting his fingers in a futile attempt to force himself into sobriety. It was hopeless. Laughter spilled from the gap between his teeth. His whole bunk was shaking with the force of his giggles. "Pink," he kept giggling. "Pink."

Thalia jumped to her feet, looming over them. "If you don't stop _right_ now," she warned.

"Kill me," Percy gasped. "I can take it."

Thalia landed her spear into the centre of his pillow, three inches from his face.

"The next one's going through your big mouth," she yelled.

"My pillow!" Percy tried to pull his pillow off the spear, causing the triangle-shaped blade to tear through the rest of the fluffy material. This time it was Thalia's turn to hold back laughs as Percy stared incredulously at the gaping tear that was now half the length of his pillow. Stuffing spilled out from the torn sheet, falling to the floor in soft white clumps.

"You…" Percy's expression resembled a six-year-old whose pet goldfish had just died.

"I warned you," Thalia folded her arms smugly.

Her triumphant expression lasted only a moment before it was smothered by a faceful of fluff. Thalia inhaled stuffing as she gasped, stumbling backwards into a curtain.

"You killed my pillow!" Percy, all laughter gone, vaulted his bed and smacked Thalia again with his broken pillow.

Thalia retreated from his attack, blinded by spotless white pillow stuffing, then stepped onto something slippery and her foot shot out from beneath her. She grabbed fistfuls of curtain as she flailed for balance, and the curtain rail snapped off the wall as her whole body weight pulled on it. The rail hit Percy on the head as he bent down to batter her with his rapidly deflating pillow, then Thalia's flailing foot hit him square in the gut so hard that he flew backwards. Thalia swiped the stuffing out of her face in time to see one end of the curtain rail coming straight for her. She went cross-eyed as the bar hit her in the forehead with just enough force to knock her flat.

The cabin fell silent as Percy and Thalia caught their breath. Annabeth, a privileged spectator to the two cousins' antics, burst into a renewed fit of giggles, the only sound besides the gurgling of the saltwater fountain in the middle of the room.

"Ow," Percy groaned, curled in a ball on the floor.

"Sorry," Thalia got to her feet and offered him a hand. "Didn't mean to kick you."

"You're getting me a new pillow," Percy told her, his voice slightly strained with pain.

"All right," Thalia saw the way he stood slightly hunched and felt a touch guilty. It probably hurt much more than he was letting on.

Annabeth continued to howl with laughter, the sound echoing around the otherwise silent cabin.

"Will you _stop_ that?" Thalia snapped.

"No," Annabeth gasped. "The curtain…the pillow…"

"That curtain _hit_ me!" Percy protested. "My pillow _died!"_

"I saw…" Annabeth giggled. "So funny."

"I'm in pain and you're laughing at me?" Percy said incredulously.

"Yep." Annabeth writhed on her bed, the whole bunk shaking with the force of her laughter.

Thalia and Percy shared a glance.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" A wicked grin formed on Thalia's face.

They both started towards Annabeth.

"Grab the blanket," Percy told Thalia. "I'll get the other end."

Annabeth had turned away from them in an attempt to sober herself up and didn't see them coming. Caught up in her laughs, she had no idea what was going on.

"Roll her up!" Percy said gleefully, grabbing the edge of the blanket and throwing it over her.

Since Annabeth made her bed every morning her blanket was spread in a neat rectangle across the length and breadth of the bed. Percy and Thalia pinned Annabeth down under the heavy cover and rolled her into the blanket like a kebab wrap.

"Nooo!" Too late, Annabeth realised her predicament and tried to kick free, inadvertently straightening her body to align it with the blanket instead, making it even easier for Percy and Thalia to roll her up. Thalia vaulted over the bed and sat on her.

"You like laughing so much?" Annabeth's feet were poking out of the end of the roll, a perfect target.

Annabeth tried to buck free, but the blanket had been rolled tight and Thalia was too heavy.

Thalia reached forward and grabbed her feet.

"No!" Annabeth squealed. "No!"

"Too bad." Thalia raked her fingers across Annabeth's sole, drawing an instantaneous reaction.

Annabeth went crazy, shrieking into the blanket and trying to squirm free. Percy got a hand on the vulnerable back of her neck and added to the tickles.

"Nooooooo!" Annabeth howled.

"Beg me," Thalia grinned.

"Never," Annabeth gasped.

"Your loss." Thalia shrugged, and started tickling her again, sending Annabeth into a renewed fit of struggles.

Pinned down on her stomach, Annabeth put all her strength into kicking both her legs backwards and upwards, surprising Thalia who dived off the bed to avoid getting her face kicked in. Freed of Thalia's weight at last, Annabeth log-rolled off the bed.

"Hey!" Percy climbed onto the bed, trying to reach her.

Celestial bronze flashed as Annabeth cut the blanket in half. Annabeth sat up sharply as Percy lunged for her, accidentally butting him in the gut.

"Ooooooooww!" Percy tumbled to the floor in a sprawl of limbs, taking Annabeth with him.

"You Seaweed Brain!" Annabeth slapped his back, though not very hard. "Get off me."

"My stomach," Percy groaned in response.

Annabeth got her palms under his chest, bench-pressed him up and pushed him aside. She climbed to her feet. "You're heavy."

Thalia popped up warily from the other side of the bed. "How did you-"

Annabeth showed her the dagger at her side. Thalia slapped her forehead. "I forgot you carry that wherever you go."

"Help," Percy croaked from the floor.

"I didn't hit you _that_ hard," Annabeth rolled her eyes as she climbed over the bed towards the bedside table.

"You…have a hard head." Percy replied.

Thalia walked around the foot of the bed to inspect her apparently wounded cousin. "Softie. My nine-year-old girls are tougher than you."

Annabeth pulled a flask of nectar from a drawer in bedside table. "Have a sip." She tossed it to Percy.

Thalia caught the flask before it could hit Percy in the head and handed it to him. The son of Poseidon was clearly in no shape to be catching thrown objects. She kicked a clump of stuffing. "Guess this is my fault. D'you have a broom in here?"

"Yeah." Percy rolled onto the floor and bent to fumble under his bunk. "It's here…somewhere…got it."

He sat up triumphantly, one hand clutching a broom and dustpan handle, then groaned again as the sudden movement caused his stomach to throb.

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "So much for your beloved abs."

"You've seen his abs?" Thalia's head snapped up.

Annabeth started to turn slightly red. "He _sometimes_ sleeps without a shirt-"

"I knew it!" Thalia yelled. "Annabeth Chase-"

Someone knocked on the door, interrupting her.

"Percy! Annabeth! It's us!" The guy's voice sounded familiar to Thalia.

"Jason!" Percy broke into a big smile. "Come on in."

The door swung open to reveal Jason and Piper standing on the porch. They noticed Thalia instantly.

"Thalia!" Piper's eyes widened.

Thalia blinked. "What's funny?" she asked, then realised her cap and hood had fallen off her head in the chaos of the afternoon. "Oh, no…"

"Hey, sis." Jason fought keep a straight face. "Nice hairdo."

Thanks for the views everyone! The next chapter is capture-the-flag! Lots of action planned.


	4. Chapter 4

"Right," Annabeth looked around the table, meeting everybody's eye. "Is everyone clear ?"

The head counsellors of the other cabins nodded. Percy raised his hand.

"Yes, Percy?"

"Why exactly am I on border defence?" he asked. "I don't mean to brag, but I'm one of the best fighters we've got…"

"You're on border defence," Annabeth explained patiently. "Because the creek runs across the entire forest. You'll use the water to form a wall, so no hunter will be able to get past."

"What if you need help?" Percy asked.

"Relax, man." Jason smiled. "We got this."

"The hunters will be in their own element in the forest," Jake Mason, the head counsellor of Hephaestus, pointed out. "You want to keep an eye on the trees, whether in offence or defence."

"That's a good point," Annabeth noted. "Anything else?"

Everyone else shook their head.

"The plan looks good," Piper stared at the detailed schematic on the table. "I don't think they can get through."

Percy, studying the complex diagram, agreed. Annabeth had designed it, for one, and for another, he didn't see how anyone could get through their defences even if they wanted to. The whole thing was so complicated that it made his head ache, which was good since the hunters probably wouldn't be able to understand it either.

Percy's creek, as secure as it was, was only the first line of defence, a mere show of force to allay the hunters' suspicions. Once, no, _if_ they managed to get through, they would find themselves in a vast, empty forest. There were no scouts to capture or follow. Every camper apart from the assault team was stationed around the flag, which was guarded by an array of Hephaestus traps and trip wires. The hunters were doubtless skilled at evading such devices, but the flag itself would be surrounded by a massive dome made completely of vines. There was no way to physically get through without alerting the four Demeter campers who'd built the dome, who would then alert the other defenders positioned around the flag.

The defenders' main strength lay in their numbers. Besides the children of Demeter there were four campers each from the Hephaestus and Apollo cabins, a son of Hecate, Malcolm Pace, son of Athena and five volunteers from the other cabins. In all, the defenders numbered twenty campers including Percy, almost half of the Camp Half-Blood contingent.

The other twenty campers were on offence. Jason, Annabeth and Piper were all in the strike force, with the latter two leading a team each. The idea was to have two teams of ten attack simultaneously from either direction in the hope of spreading the hunters thin. Whoever managed to get the flag in the ensuing chaos would signal Jason, who'd instantly fly it up and away. Once he cleared the trees the game was as good as won. No one could shoot through the dense covering of leaves, not even the hunters of Artemis.

"Remember," Annabeth said firmly. "This isn't just about the flag. We only win if we get their flag before they get ours, so _no_ delays. Speed is the most important factor."

"What if we can't get their flag?" Piper asked. "Is there a contingency plan?"

A slow smile spread across Annabeth's face. "Oh yes." she said. "There is."

Over in Cabin Eight the hunters were making their own preparations. Thalia slammed her fist into her palm. "It's Annabeth. We all know what she's capable of, but I have a foolproof plan…"

Friday evening was the perfect night for Capture The Flag. The temperature cooled as the sun went down. The light breeze that had made the trees rustle slowly died down. The forest was calm and silent, perfect conditions for a hunt.

"Hey, Annabeth," Thalia sauntered up to the blue team's table, drawing hostile glances from every side. "Good luck."

"You'll be needing all the luck, Thalia." Annabeth smiled back.

"I think we'll be fine," Thalia caught Percy's eye. "How's your gut?"

"Good as new." Percy arched backwards for dramatic effect.

"You know, I'm a little worried for you," Thalia continued. "Your last game against the hunters didn't go very well, as I remember."

"I remember getting their flag," Percy countered.

Thalia rolled her eyes, remembering how she'd shocked him twice in that game. "Well, I don't want you getting pulverised later on. If you stay out of the way, my girls might not notice."

Percy laughed. "I'll be getting even for last time tonight. I'll be the first one you see, I guarantee you."

"Should be an easy game then," Thalia grinned. "See ya." She walked back to the rest of her group.

"We'll kick her butt," Annabeth said confidently, then raised her voice. "Blue team, move out!"

The Camp Half-Blood team cheered as they headed off towards the northern part of the woods. There were only forty of them, partly to make it a fair game, partly because the other half of the camp wouldn't be able to survive a game against the hunters of Artemis. No one below fourteen was allowed to take part this time. The thirty or forty younger campers not taking part remained in the dining pavilion, watching a live stream from their new Iris-phones.

"Hunters, let's move!" Thalia yelled, raising a ruckus of boos from the remaining campers and a massive cheer from her side.

Nico di Angelo sidled up to Chiron, looking amused. "This'll be good."

"Oh, yes," Chiron agreed. "It certainly will."

"Keep your eyes open," Malcolm Pace warned. "They could be anywhere."

"Relax, man." Jake Mason's armour clanked as he shook his head. "We'll know for sure when they arrive."

They had placed their flag on top of Zeus's Fist, a cluster of rocks that rose six metres above the ground. Twelve defenders stood in a loose square nine metres away, as per the rules. The Apollo campers were in the trees. Three of the Demeter campers were busy growing the dome of vines. Percy was at the creek.

"Any movement?" Percy's voice crackled from Malcolm's walkie-talkie, making everybody jump.

"No," Malcolm replied. "You?"

"Nobody's passed through the creek," Percy said. "They're holding back for now."

Annabeth's group of ten moved at a swift pace around the right of the forest. Nobody really knew where the flag was, but Annabeth knew from experience that a large silver banner wouldn't be hard to spot. They would stumble onto it naturally. Getting the flag would be the hard part.

"Hold up," Lou Ellen, daughter of Hecate, whispered. "It's right ahead of us."

Annabeth halted the group. "You sure?"

"Yep. Some guards, too."

Annabeth pulled out her walkie-talkie. "Jason, we're in position."

"So are we." The voice came from above them.

The campers swore as they looked up. Hunters were perched in the trees around them, easily outnumbering the Camp Half-Blood group.

"Don't move." Lanesra warned.

"Magic camouflage," Lou Ellen spat.

Annabeth considered her options. She counted a dozen archers in her line of sight, and knew there were more behind her. She cursed under her breath. This was bad.

"Just drop your weapons and no one gets hurt." Lanesra said calmly. "We'll march you out of the woods. If you move fast enough you'll be able to get S'mores before the game is over."

Annabeth's mind raced as she analysed the situation. She didn't fancy their chances. They were outnumbered and surrounded, and even if they hadn't been taken by surprise there was no way they could climb the trees before the hunters shot them down. It went against her grain to give up without a fight, but…

Something occurred to her as she frowned. These fourteen or fifteen hunters must have been guarding their left flank. If there was the same number all around…

"You put all your people on defence."

Lanesra laughed. "Thalia figured it would be impossible to outmanoeuvre you, so she decided to put everyone on guard. Take out your offence team first, then move in on the flag."

"You'll never get it." Annabeth tried to stall for time. "You're all going to lose."

"Stalling won't work." Lanesra read the attempt easily. "Last chance. Drop your weapons or we'll shoot."

A few campers bristled at that, but Annabeth held up her hand. The hunters had them at bow-point. There was no point in resisting any further.

"Don't shoot!" Drew Tanaka, the former Aphrodite head counsellor, shrieked. " _Seriously_ , everyone. Drop your bows."

Annabeth blinked as a half-dozen of the hunters' bows fell from the trees. Was this really happening?

"All right," Drew continued, laying on the charmspeak. "You can come down and arrest us now."

Half of the hunters slid down on zip lines. The other half looked confused.

Annabeth laughed as she realised it at last. By carefully crafting her words Drew had made it look like she was co-operating, whereas she had actually been charmspeaking the hunters into disarming themselves. Annabeth didn't waste a moment. "TAKE THEM HOSTAGE!"

After a moment of stunned silence, the campers roared and charged. Too late, Lanesra realised what had just happened.

"FIRE!"

A dozen arrows cut into the mass of campers, but they had scattered in pursuit of the hunters on the ground and only three of them found their target. Hunters screamed as they were battered off their feet by the campers' heavy shields. Artemis's handmaidens had never been front-line fighters and most of them carried only knives. While skilful, they were no match for the campers' heavy armour and long swords.

Annabeth lunged with her drakon-bone sword, aiming for a hunter's shoulder. The young girl, who couldn't have been older than ten, dodged the blow and darted in, silver knives flashing. She was fast, but Annabeth had trained in knife fighting for ten years and knew all the moves. She slammed her shield into the hunter's forehead and the girl collapsed.

Despite the campers' momentary advantage the hunters were still winning. Several had been beaten to a pulp by the campers. A few were still fighting on the ground, but more than ten of them were still safe in the trees. Three of them had been charmspoken into dropping their bows, but the remaining seven continued to fire with deadly aim, picking off the campers one by one with blunt-tipped arrows that rang on their helmets like bells, causing them to stagger around in a daze.

"Don't shoot!" Drew shouted, then Lanesra hit her in the forehead with a slingshot stone and she fell.

"Throw javelins!" Annabeth shouted, but went unheard amidst the chaos and growing panic. She flung her knife into a tree, snapping a hunter's bow, then three arrows hit her shield so hard that she stumbled. An arrow hit her breastplate, knocking her back, then another glanced off her helmet, missing her temple by sheer luck.

An Ares camper in front of her cursed as he swung a javelin around, hitting a hunter on the side of her head. The hunter collapsed like a sock puppet, then a moment later the Ares camper followed suit as two arrows hit him on either side of his helmet. Annabeth threw down her sword and grabbed the long shaft as it fell. She rolled, covering herself with her shield, then came up and rose fully, poised to throw, blood roaring in her ears.

"Stop!" Lanesra shouted.

Annabeth hesitated.

"We don't want to hurt you." For the first time since they'd met, the Second Lieutenant didn't sound like her smug self. "The rest of your group is down. It's over."

Annabeth allowed herself a glance around. Campers and hunters lay unconscious on the forest floor. Nobody was moving. It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. It was clear that she was the last one standing.

"We won't hold back if you throw that javelin. You _know_ how good we are."

Annabeth set her jaw. The hunters had won the last fifty-six capture-the-flag games between them. _Not this time,_ Annabeth thought. _Not on my watch._

She wavered her stance slightly, shifted her feet, and threw the javelin with all her strength, saw it knock a hunter out of a tree. Then she threw herself to the ground, curled into a ball under her shield and waited.

A weighted net fell on top of her, pinning her to the ground. Arrows struck her shield so hard that they broke through. More arrows struck the ground all around her and Annabeth groaned as the air filled with the acrid stench of sulfur.

"Your lungs will be rattling for the next few days," Lanesra called, then the arrows stopped and everything became still. Annabeth strained against the net, but couldn't budge it an inch. She realised the hunters had pinned it to the ground with their arrows like tent pegs.

All her weapons were gone. She closed her eyes against the sting of the sulfur and felt around blindly, hoping there was a discarded sword she could use to cut herself free, but there was nothing.

Her lungs burned. Annabeth cursed in her mind, relaxed her body in an attempt to lower her oxygen consumption as much as possible, then took a long, deep breath.

As always, thanks for the views! Next chapter is Thalia V Jason. Who dyou think will win?


	5. Chapter 5

Jason had smiled at first when the sound of fighting reached his ears. Fighting meant that the hunters had spotted Annabeth's team and were moving to engage them, which suggested that they had opened up a weakness somewhere else, probably on the far left where his team was poised to strike. He quickened his pace, wanting to maximise the window of opportunity. He had no idea whether Annabeth could break through their defence and didn't intend to find out.

Then his sister stepped out of the trees and the smile melted from his face.

"Hey, little bro." Thalia grinned at him. "You don't look happy to see me."

"I'd be happy if not for that hood," Jason replied, knowing that her hair was still bright pink under her clothes.

Hunters emerged from the trees above and around them, forming a perfect killzone without endangering themselves. A chorus of curses came from Jason's group as they spotted the armed girls.

"We'll take your friends to jail," Thalia extended her arm and her spear appeared in her hand. "But I've been wanting to try you since the day we met." She dropped into a fighting stance.

Jason narrowed his eyes, sensing the air currents all around him. Beside him, Piper stepped to his side.

"I'm not going anywhere."

"Suit yourself," Thalia nodded to one of her hunters, who fired a warning shot into the trunk of a tree. "Now, let's be sensible, shall we?" she said to the rest of the campers.

"I agree." Jason's eyes glittered. He rolled his shoulders, feeling the eerie calm of battle descend on him. "Campers, take them down."

Thalia snorted with derision. The hunters raised their bows.

Thunder boomed. Jason willed the air to expand violently outwards, creating a powerful blast of wind that made the whole forest shake. Every hunter fell from the trees amidst a blizzard of leaves. Thalia's eyes widened.

"Get them!" Jason shouted.

The campers cheered and charged the fallen girls.

"Hunters, kneel!" Piper yelled, seeing many of the girls getting back to their feet. The tactic half-worked. A few of the girls knelt, some looked confused, then the campers ploughed into them and the battle was on.

Thalia snarled and started forward, heading straight for Jason. Her bracelet expanded into a thick bronze shield with the horrible impression of Medusa in its centre. The monster's image seemed to bore into Jason's mind, like an invisible force trying to push him backwards, but he held his ground, forcing his body to obey his will. He was a legionnaire of Rome and he did not run.

Piper stood next to him, sword raised.

"Go help the others," Jason smiled at her. "This one's personal."

Piper laughed. "Fry her, Sparky." She darted away.

"She's smart," Thalia shouted, closing fast.

"I don't need her to beat you," Jason replied, raising his sword.

Thalia's spear crackled with electricity. A bolt of lightning blasted out from the tip towards him. Jason's Imperial gold gladius absorbed the charge. He didn't move an inch.

Thalia came into range and stabbed, but Jason wasn't there. The winds catapulted him into the air and he somersaulted over her, swinging his sword as he came down behind. The flat of the blade hit Thalia in the head, knocking it to one side, but she was just as fast and caught him in the ribs with a powerful back kick. She pulled her arm back at the same time, hitting him in the stomach with the butt of her spear. Jason gasped and tumbled to the ground, while Thalia staggered two steps from the impact to her head.

"Not bad," Thalia spun around to face him, grinning. "You don't fight like a Roman."

"Piper's starting to rub off on me," Jason summoned the winds and launched catlike into the air, sword-first.

"I'll bet she does," Thalia said dryly, then slammed his sword aside and jabbed with her spear. Despite them being almost face-to-face Jason somehow managed to avoid getting run through. He twisted aside and grabbed her shaft. His momentum caused the two of them to slam into each other, knocking them both to the ground. Lightning crackled at the sudden contact. His knee connected with her chest. She clouted him with her spear shaft, hammered him off her with her shield and kicked him away. Jason reeled backwards, then caught himself in midair, hovering two feet off the ground. Both of them were breathing heavily.

"I don't believe anyone taught you to fly," Jason smiled.

"I don't need to," Thalia smiled back. "I have you right where I want you." She dropped back into her fighting stance and beckoned him on.

Jason lunged for her again, sword poised. Thalia waited for him, let him come, then thrust her spear forward at the last second, the tip aimed at Jason's chest.

Jason had been expecting the move and swerved violently to the left, willing his sword to extend into a javelin. He swiped at her as he passed, on her right where she had only her spear shaft. As if in slow motion, he locked eyes with her as she turned her head to follow his movement, seeing her's widen with shock.

The javelin's tip sliced through her hood and the armour beneath. Blood darkened the fabric on the side of her head and only her lightning reflexes prevented the blade from carving her skull open.

Thalia spun around and threw her shield Captain America style. The large round disc slammed into Jason's ribs as he turned, sending him sprawling. Thalia hefted her spear and flung it at him with all her strength.

Winded and dazed, Jason half-managed to deflect the spear with a gust of wind. The triangular bronze blade grazed his left shoulder and he cried out in pain.

Thalia cracked her neck, drew her hunting knives and broke into a sprint towards him. Jason rolled to his feet, sword ready.

Electricity crackled and sparked where their weapons clashed. Thunder roared and the air charged with ozone as the two siblings fought. Campers and hunters began to stagger as the air howled with gale-force winds. Their eyes widened as they forgot each other to gape at the two children of Zeus. Thalia and Jason were at the center of a miniature tornado, fighting in such a frenzy that it was impossible to track their movements. The crash of blades melded into a continuous sound as the two of them stood frighteningly close to each other, weapons sliding and flashing in the gap between their bodies that seemed to narrow with each strike.

Despite the intensity of their combat the two siblings were evenly matched. Jason was the better swordsman, but Thalia had two knives. Both were wounded. Thalia's head was bleeding more heavily than Jason's shoulder, but Jason had taken more blows and appeared slightly dazed.

Thalia blocked, stepped in and slashed. Jason sidestepped neatly and brought his sword around in a hard, chopping sweep. Thalia ducked, showing off superhuman reflexes that had been developed through thousands of hours training with Artemis herself. She tried to get under his guard, but Jason had anticipated the move and blocked the attack. His riposte was viciously fast and Thalia threw herself backwards, feeling the blade pass an inch above her head. She kicked out as she somersaulted and her foot caught Jason in the chin. Jason collapsed to the ground, out cold.

Thalia stumbled slightly, steadied herself on a tree trunk. "Ugh."

"Holy shit." The hunter Valerie uncorked a canteen of nectar, gently pushing Thalia's hood back to clean her wound. "That was intense."

"Tell me about it," Thalia groaned as all her aches and pains from the fight seemed to intensify. She beckoned wearily. "Get me some ambrosia."

Valerie passed the nectar over and she took a sip, wary of overdosing. She'd need more later.

"The other campers?" She straightened to survey the scene.

"Defeated," Valerie pointed to the huddle of sullen demigods kneeling on the grass. Three hunters trained bows on them, ready to punish a single movement. "Piper McLean escaped."

Thalia nodded as she pushed the square of ambrosia into her mouth. "Follow her trail. It'll lead us to the flag."

"Will do." The girls nodded.

"Two of you stay with me." Thalia took a deep breath, wincing as pain sparked in her bruised ribs. "I'll need a minute to catch my breath. Scout the forest thoroughly, but don't engage unless attacked. I'll join you to lead the assault."

"You sure?" Valerie asked, concerned. "You took some heavy hits just now."

"Piper and Percy will be waiting for us. You'll need me. Besides," She managed a smile. "I'm not passing up the chance to fight Percy."

Cynthia was a study in concentration as she scrutinised the forest around her, scanning the surroundings for the first sign of danger. Both prongs of Camp Half-Blood's pincer attack had been defeated, but there was always the possibility that someone was still sneaking around, looking for the flag. She glanced behind her, reassured by the sight of the silver banner hanging from the long pole.

Three hunters had been stationed to guard the flag. While neither of them wanted to be away from the action, they understood the importance of their task, especially given who they were up against.

"Wonder how long this one will be." Jean, a hunter who'd played in the last eighteen games, tapped a finger to her chin.

"Both attacks have been defeated. They probably put up a reasonable defence, so…" Cynthia tried to calculate how long it would take for Thalia and company to overwhelm the rest of Camp Half-Blood. "Another fifteen minutes?"

"You're being generous." Jean snorted. "Half their team is down. I don't see this game lasting any longer than five."

Something in the air shifted almost imperceptibly. The three hunters stiffened.

" _Well_." Jean had only time to register that the voice came from beside her ear before a massive force slammed into her from behind. "You're right about that."

Cynthia spun around and fired even before her mind had registered the attacker's identity, then her eyes widened in shock as all three arrows were sliced out of the air.

Pain exploded in her gut, making her hunch over. Stumbling a step backwards, she looked down to see two small throwing stars protruding from the bottom of her shirt. Her silver clothes started to darken as blood soaked through the material. Her hands shaking, she reached for her knife.

Four more blades struck her biceps and shoulders, making her gasp. Across the clearing all three hunters collapsed, reeling from their wounds.

"Friendly," Cynthia's breath came in ragged gasps. "No…maiming."

"I don't care." the assailant snarled. Cynthia, writhing on the ground, watched, powerless to intervene, as a pair of boots stopped beside the flag. The banner was cut from the staff. "That was for my sister."

Annabeth fought the urge to gasp. The sulfur burned her lungs like acid, bringing back memories of Tartarus. She pushed the thought out of her mind immediately. She needed to remain as calm as possible.

She had been counting seconds ever since the smell hit her nose. Normal smoke grenades can continue dispensing gas for several minutes. Annabeth knew the hunters' arrows were at least as potent, probably more, but there was nothing she could do except wait, minute by horrid minute, until the gas thinned enough for her to breathe normally. It had been three minutes already, by her count, and the gas showed no signs of dissipating. She squeezed her eyes and gritted her teeth, distracting herself from the pain with whatever she could bring to her mind. _Percy,_ she thought. _Percy, Percy, Percy._ She pictured his horrified expression when he discovered what had happened to her, a mix between outrage and concern. She smiled. He looked cute when he was concerned.

Then she felt a change in her surroundings. An unseen blade sliced through the net's metal links like tinfoil. Annabeth surged upwards immediately, the net falling off her like a shed skin. She almost took in a deep breath, but caught herself just in time. Her body was already weak from the lack of oxygen and a sudden surge of sulfuric pain could floor her as effectively as any blow.

"Climb." Even without opening her eyes Annabeth knew who the voice belonged to.

She strode forward, arms stretched out ahead of her like a zombie. She waved around wildly, then felt her left arm connect with something solid. The dryad bent her branch lower, allowing Annabeth to scramble up. Her lungs were screaming for air, but she didn't dare inhale. She continued climbing, faster and faster, until she felt the branches narrow and bend under her weight, felt a light breeze against her face. She opened her eyes and found herself ten metres up, well clear of the sulfur cloud. She gasped lungfuls of air, clinging to the branch like a lifeline. Far in the distance, the sounds of battle slowly died down.

"Percy." Thalia grunted.

The hunters were gathered at the creek, invisible in the undergrowth, gazing in awe at the wall of water in front of them. None of them had seen anything like it before. Thalia, however, was not impressed.

"It's the same across the whole creek," a scout reported. "The whole forest is blocked off."

"Spread out," Thalia ordered. "On my signal, fire arrows into the other side. Cover every inch from top to bottom. We'll keep shooting until we get him. With that barrier so high it can't be very thick. There isn't enough water."

The hunters dispersed silently. The signal went and arrows sliced into the wall of water. All of the hunters could nock three or more arrows at a time. Four hundred arrows, five, six, then there was a scream and all the water splashed back into the creek bed. Thalia stifled a laugh.

"All right," She emerged from cover. "Let's go."

The hunters started forward, bows ready.

"Three teams of nine," Thalia scanned the dark forest. "Standard trident formation. Spread out and pursue as necessary. Report back when you find the flag."

The hunters started forward, weapons ready. The forest was deathly quiet and many of them flinched at the sound of their boots moving through the cold water.

Then the whole creek erupted like a fountain. Water exploded upwards, dousing the hunters from head to toe. Screaming girls stumbled backwards, howling as salt in the water stung their eyes.

"SUCKERS!" Percy, who'd been safely ensconced behind a big shield in a bush, burst from cover, leading the attack. A mix of campers charged out of the woods behind him, yelling and screaming. Apollo campers fired from the trees above, cutting hunters down as they desperately blinked water out of their eyes.

On the left, the Hephaestus campers fired tranquilizer darts from crossbows, forcing the silver-clad girls back into the woods. On the right, hunters screamed as a mass of vines erupted from the ground beneath their feet, wrapping around their bodies and pinning them down like a scene out of a bad horror movie.

In the centre Percy was first into the enemy line, ploughing into a hunter and knocking her flat. He hit her on the head with the pommel of his sword and jumped to his feet. A second hunter ran at him, blades out. He parried, ducked and punched her in the gut, doubling her over. He clouted her with his hilt, elbowed her, then a Hermes camper crashed into the poor girl from behind and she hit the dirt. The Hermes boy pulled a half-dozen handcuffs from his belt and started cuffing her enthusiastically. Percy rolled his eyes and stalked on, trying to locate Thalia amidst the chaos.

He spotted her on the far right, slicing through vines with her knife. "Back!" Thalia shouted. "Back to the trees!"

The hunters scrambled backwards, leaving several casualties groaning on the ground. Thunder rumbled and the air took on a metallic note. Too late, Percy realised what was about to happen.

"Get back!" he screamed at the campers, who were splashing through the creek in pursuit of the beaten hunters. "GET OUT OF THE WATER!"

Lightning blasted the creek. Campers screamed as the current shocked them, collapsing into the frothing, sizzling water.

Percy took in the situation with wide, panicked eyes. Half his team had been disabled by the brief skirmish and the massive lightning strike. Most of the rest were on the wrong side of the creek and eyed the water nervously, wary of another lightning strike. He knew it would only be moments until the hunters regrouped and launched a massive counterattack. Already silver arrows were coming from the woods, picking off campers as they hesitated at the water's edge.

"GO!" Percy shouted.

The campers, trusting Percy's voice, splashed across. Thunder boomed once more as the hunters advanced in pursuit.

Percy yelled and thrust his sword out. The entire creek leaped out of its bed in a massive wave that smashed into the hunters, washing them into the trees in an explosion of mud and sputtering. The campers scrambled safely back into their half of the woods where they slowed, unsure of whether to hold the line.

"Back to the flag!" Malcolm took charge, knowing that his outnumbered force had no hope of taking on the hunters in a straight-up fight. "Back to the flag!"

Other campers took up the call and the demigods ran back at last, panting and wild-eyed at the sudden reversal of fortunes.

"Should we pursue?" Valerie asked Thalia.

Thalia wiped muddy water out of her eyes and surveyed the scene. Almost a third of the hunters were down, along with about ten campers spasming near the creek.

"You expect us to mount a pursuit like this?" Thalia growled. She shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. "Call Chiron to carry all the wounded out. Two minutes to take stock, then split into five groups of four. Pick random points along the forest and cross fast. Percy can't defend everywhere if we all cross at the same time. Use the woods for cover so they can't track our movement. Once we're across we meet back here before deciding our next move."

Valerie nodded and headed off. Thalia stared fixedly across the creek, trying to put herself in Annabeth's shoes. If she were facing the hunters, facing _Thalia,_ what would she do?

Gonna be a tight game, despite how it looks. Stay tuned, there's a big surprise in the next chapter.


	6. Chapter 6

Piper's eyes widened as the campers, led by Percy, emerged from the undergrowth.

"What happened?"

"What d'you think?" Percy said dryly. "We lost."

Piper's jaw dropped as she counted the number of campers. "That's _half_ of you missing. How—"

"Thalia." Percy said curtly.

Malcolm, all business, shouldered his way to the front. "Everyone back to your stations! We don't have much time before they mount an assault."

The campers redeployed to their defensive posts.

"What exactly happened?" Piper asked.

"Thalia blasted the creek with lightning as we were charging through it." Percy shook his head. "Should've seen it coming."

"Should've shot her down first." Malcolm pounded the vine dome in frustration. "I _told_ you to aim for her!" he shouted at an Apollo archer.

"They all look the same!" the archer protested. "How am I supposed to know?"

Katie Gardner's head snapped up. "The vines are twitching."

Malcolm turned to her. "An animal? Or…?"

"It's coming from all around us." Jake Mason stared at the readings from his array of sensors. "Even…even above us." Both him and Malcolm looked up.

"Can you vine them up?" Piper asked Katie.

"Not all," Katie shook her head. "There's like twenty of them."

"Do all you can." Malcolm, who'd pulled off his helmet in an attempt to cool himself, pulled it back on. "Everyone stand ready!"

"They outnumber us two to one," Piper muttered.

"I'm worth three of them by myself," Percy said. "Maybe four."

"So is Thalia," Piper said dryly.

The Hephaestus traps activated as the hunters closed in. Some were enveloped by weighted nets. Others fell into pits of barbed wire. A few of them triggered a trip wire.

"Oh, that's it." Jake Mason grinned.

A dozen hornet nests fell from above, smashing onto the ground with a sound like broken jars. The hunters screamed as they were enveloped by clouds of angry buzzing wasps.

"Be careful," Katie Gardner teased from the other side of the vine dome. "Those things are poisonous."

Despite the situation some of the campers cracked up laughing.

"Let's see you zap that, Thalia!" Percy yelled.

Then an explosion rocked the ground, silencing the campers' cheers.

"What was—" A second explosion erupted before Piper could finish her sentence. Everyone spun around as a big hole was blasted into the wall of the dome, flames licking the edges of the singed vines.

"Oh, shit." Percy drew his sword.

"Explosive arrows!" Jake Mason yelled.

More explosion blasted into the dome from every side. Percy and the others dived out of the way as an arrow blew a hole directly above their heads, bits of charred vine falling from the gap. Arrows began to fly in from the gaps, cutting down campers and forcing others to scramble for cover.

"Hold the barrier!" Malcolm ordered.

"Can't!" Katie and the Demeter campers worked frantically, but in the time it took them to repair one hole the hunters made another five. It was hopeless.

Malcolm swore in frustration.

"Surrender," Thalia yelled from outside. "Or we'll bury you in vines."

Percy and Piper shared a glance.

"No thanks," Piper cracked her neck. "Why don't you come in and get us?"

"You asked for it." More explosions filled the air. The vine dome began to sag.

"Are you going to let us be flattened by vines?" Malcolm asked Katie.

"No," Katie was pouring sweat, her voice was strained with effort. "But…we need to wait."

"Wait for what?" Percy winced as another explosion sent blackened vines flying past his head.

"The vines," Katie grunted. "I need them destroyed."

"Looks pretty destroyed to me." The sagging dome looked ready to collapse.

"Not…yet…" Another explosion struck. The vine dome started to cave in with a massive snapping, tearing sound. Katie took a deep breath. "Now! Everyone get down!" The Demeter campers pushed as one towards Percy's left.

The vine dome lurched outwards to one side like a massive smoking net as it collapsed at last, pinning a few unsuspecting hunters who'd been shooting at it to the ground.

"ATTACK!" Malcolm knew they had to strike first before the hunters recovered and pinned them down with their arrows.

Outnumbered but defiant, the campers charged out.

Thalia seemed to have vanished in the chaos and the hunters seemed unsure of how to react. Some of them carried on shooting with their bows. Others advanced with knives drawn. They easily had enough numbers to crush the remaining campers, but the lack of organisation allowed Camp Half-Blood to close before they were destroyed.

"Get the flag!" Lanesra yelled, knowing they had lost the opportunity for a quick dismantling of Camp Half-Blood's defence.

The two sides clashed in a melee of flashing bronze and silver. The hunters outnumbered the campers almost two to one, but they were spread out around the perimeter and could not bring most of their numbers to bear against the campers' concentrated assault. Several hunters went down in the first few seconds. The remaining hunters didn't dare open fire for fear of hitting their own comrades in the melee, then both sides suddenly realised that Camp Half-Blood's flag was now wide open.

"Shit!" Percy spun around, realisation dawning in his eyes.

"Back to the flag!" Piper yelled.

The campers' brief exultation turned to fear. They started back towards Zeus's Fist, but a shower of arrows forced them to take cover.

"The flag's in the killzone," Malcolm shouted. "If we go in there we're all dead."

"You want to just let them take it?" Percy shouted back.

"Phalanx formation!" Malcolm yelled. "Everyone get together."

The remaining campers huddled together with their shields raised, but there were only six of them now against a dozen hunters who were slowly advancing under arrow fire.

"They're almost to the flag!" Piper cried.

"We need to stop those arrows or we're all gonna die." Malcolm swore as an arrow clipped his helmet. " _Now._ "

"I can create some smoke," Lou Ellen, one of the surviving campers, offered.

"I've got tomatoes," Katie Gardner added. "What?" she said when the others gave her odd looks. "They're vine plants. They're tangly."

"On three," Percy propped his shield against his head to free his hands. He plunged his sword to the hilt in the ground.

"What're you gonna do?" Piper asked.

"Gonna shake things up."

"Three!" Malcolm yelled.

While smoke billowed from the ground under the hunters' feet, obscuring their aim and making them cough. Before they could react tomato vines sprouted, winding up their legs, sprouting green tomatoes that swelled and ripened in seconds. The hunters yelped at the winding, tightening sensation and fumbled for their knives.

Then the ground began to shake violently. All the hunters fell to their knees. Lanesra, who'd climbed Zeus's Fist and was just reaching for the flag, tumbled off the cluster of rocks and landed on the ground with a thump.

A powerful jet of water erupted right below the Second Lieutenant, tossing her six metres into the air with a yelp. Hunters scrambled backwards on their butts as the geyser widened, spraying water in all directions.

"Let's go!" Piper led the charge to save their flag.

The six campers hit the centre of the hunters' line, swords flashing. Percy and Piper were unstoppable, carving their way through the soaking, tomato-laden girls.

But for all their superior skill the demigods were still heavily outnumbered. Lou Ellen collapsed as a blunt-tipped arrow hit the side of her head from point-blank range. Katie was disarmed and pinned to a tree trunk.

Percy fought with superhuman speed, disarming three hunters as they leaped at him from all sides. He back-kicked one girl in the stomach, punched another flat and knocked the last one out with the flat of his blade.

"Percy!" Malcolm yelled.

The son of Poseidon spun around. To his horror, he realised that a few hunters had scaled Zeus's Fist and cut the flag down. The silver-clad girls jumped the six-metre drop without hesitation, landing effortlessly on the ground and sprinting away.

"Stop them!" Malcolm yelled.

Percy and Piper raced after them.

To their left, a section of the collapsed vine dome exploded upwards in a blast of electricity. Thalia emerged from the newly-blasted hole in the vines. Her hood had come off at last and there were bits of green stalks in her bright pink hair. She looked livid.

"Oh, no." Piper's eyes widened as she caught sight of the daughter of Zeus.

Percy merely grunted and kept on running, as if Thalia was no more than a hurdle on a track.

Thalia took in the scene and moved to block their path. Percy raised his sword and met her at full speed.

What happened next was so fast that even Piper's ADHD brain almost couldn't process it.

Percy ducked right and went left towards Thalia's spear side. Thalia read the feint and jabbed with her spear. Percy swept the spear aside with Riptide and punched his sword hilt into Thalia's face. The daughter of Zeus fell flat and didn't get up.

"Holy shit," Piper muttered.

But the four hunters with the flag were now ten metres clear and getting further. Percy had no hope of catching them. To make matters worse, an arrow whizzed past Piper's head, a clear warning shot.

"Surrender!" Piper turned to see two hunters levelling bows at her. She sighed in defeat and dropped her sword. Behind her Percy screamed and hacked at the ground in frustration. For a single, heart-aching moment, the game seemed lost.

Then, just because the game hadn't had enough twists already, the dirt erupted in front of Piper's feet. A dozen skeletons in ragged clothes emerged from the ground. Piper broke into a smile.

The hunters opened fire. The arrows whistled harmlessly through the skeletons' empty eye sockets and ribcages. The skeletons charged, pumelling the girls with their bony fists, elbows and knees. The two hunters screamed as they were beaten to the ground in a rain of bones.

"Get the flag!" Piper tried to tell the skeletons, but, obviously lacking ears, they didn't listen. Piper turned towards the fleeing remnant of the hunters, trying one last time to stop them.

She needn't have bothered. Shadows condensed in front of the sprinting girls. Nico di Angelo materialised in front of them, looking as menacing as he'd ever been. The Italian's face curled into smile as he spotted the four hunters.

"I've been looking forward to this." He rolled his shoulders and raised his sword.

The first hunter went down with two throwing knives in her left thigh. The second tried to dart around him and went flying as Nico swept her legs out from under her with his sword. Blood splashed into the air as the remaining two girls leaped at him from both sides with knives outstretched.

Nico attacked without hesitation, dancing to the outside of one girl and opening her leg to the bone with a long slash. He spun around to strike the second girl, using the longer length of his sword to his advantage and forcing her to parry. Nico rolled under her counterstrike and slashed her calves as he came up kneeling. The girl collapsed in agony and Nico straightened, marching towards the fallen hunter who clutched the flag in one hand, trying to crawl away. The hunter heard him coming and pulled out her bow. Nico sliced it in half and stamped on her wrist with a steel-clad boot. The hunter screamed as her forearm cracked under his weight.

"Nico! Hey!" Piper ran up to him. "Stop!" she said breathlessly. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Winning." he said simply. He stooped and plucked the flag from the ground.

"Those were serious injuries you inflicted," Piper said. "You can't do that!"

"Don't care." Nico turned to her, his face blank, but the malevolence in his eyes made Piper recoil. "They took Bianca away from me."

"Uhhh." Thalia groaned as she opened her eyes. Every part of her body seemed to ache, including her face. _Especially_ her face. She sat up. "What…happened?"

Percy, seeing that she was awake, offered her a hand. "Sorry I knocked you out."

"That's what happened?" Thalia got to her feet, slightly wobbly. "Unbelievable."

"Congratulations." Nico told her. "You've finally masterminded a Camp Half-Blood win."

Thalia frowned. "You didn't get our flag."

"We'll go get it now." Percy said.

"No need." Nico waved him off. "I got it." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a ridiculously tiny square of silver that he shook out to reveal the hunters' silver banner. Percy laughed as Nico flapped the flag in the air like a piece of laundry. Campers and hunters stared in a mixture of surprise and disbelief as the flag shimmered and changed into the black skull design of Hades.

For the first time in fifty-six games, Camp Half-Blood had won.

 _Well, that's done. The game's won at last. The story isn't over, though. As always, thanks for the views!_


	7. Chapter 7

"Nine major casualties." Thalia's voice was hard as iron. "Severed leg muscles, broken bones. Nico, what were you thinking?"

All eyes were on the son of Hades. Chiron looked troubled, Jason and Piper shocked. Lanesra, the Second Lieutenant, glared at Nico with barely suppressed fury. Only Percy seemed to understand what was really going on.

The silence seemed to hang in the air. Finally Nico spoke. "Seems to me that you're just sore losers."

"Nico!" Chiron barked.

"Bastard!" The table tipped over with a crash. Lanesra shot out of her seat, crimson with rage.

Nico simply scooted his wheeled chair backwards to avoid the table. He seemed to be taunting Lanesra with his bored look.

"Lanesra, sit _down_." Thalia said firmly, trying to ignore the throbbing in her head. "We're _not_ going to take things into our own hands."

Lanesra sat down hard, hands shaking with anger.

Percy cleared his throat. "Last time you were here I remember a lot of broken bones."

"That's different." Thalia shook her head. "Broken bones happen all the time. Sword wounds, however—"

"So it's okay when you crack our heads, but we can't crack yours?" Nico leaned forward, resting his elbows on the edge of the fallen table. "No wonder you always win."

Lanesra jumped out of her seat with a howl. Everyone apart from Nico rose as her arm came up with a blade.

"Lanesra, stop!" Thalia grabbed the Second Lieutenant around the waist as she tried to vault the table. Percy, Piper and Jason all rushed forward, grabbing her arms and pulling the knife out of her grasp. Thalia wrestled her to the floor in a tangle of limbs. Lanesra screamed oaths at Nico.

"Get out!" Thalia yelled into her face. "Go!"

Lanesra got to her feet, trembling from head to toe. Percy, Jason and Piper formed a wall between her and Nico, shepherding her towards the doorway. Percy pulled his pen from his pocket. "Don't even think about it." he warned.

Lanesra pointed a finger at Nico. "You're dead, little boy. Dead!"

Nico laughed out loud. "Most of your group is incapacitated. I took down four of you at once. Who's gonna kill me? You?"

" _Enough!"_ Chiron snapped.

Lanesra lunged at him and it took all three of Percy, Jason and Piper to wrestle her out of the room. Thalia remained standing until Jason and Percy came back in. Piper had left to escort Lanesra to Cabin 8.

"Are you _trying_ get yourself killed?" Thalia screamed at Nico. "Look at what you did. The whole hunt's going to be out for your blood. Do you have any idea how hard it will be to rein them in?"

"Let them come," Nico spread his hands, smiling. "You all know where to find me."

"Nico, that is _enough._ " Chiron's voice was steely calm, the way he got when he was really angry. "You will stop this behaviour at once. You will apologise to the hunters for going overboard."

"Or what?" Nico countered. "We both know I'm not going to do it. We won the game, fair and square. It's not my fault if I'm too good for them."

Jason shook his head. "You're easily skilled enough to avoid unintentional maiming. Percy and I took them down without seriously injuring them."

"What are you saying?" Nico folded his arms.

Jason found himself unable to continue. If Nico was angry Jason could face him down, even if the mere thought of it made his stomach churn. But Nico was nonchalent, as if he didn't care about their accusation. He _had_ been intentional, Jason realised. He'd gone into the game looking for blood.

"What is this about?" Percy asked.

Nico turned to him. "Beg your pardon?"

"So you didn't hold back. So you did it on purpose. Why?"

"Is it because of Bianca?" Thalia asked quietly.

"Partly," Nico shrugged. "If Bianca hadn't joined your hunt she'd still be alive. Partly also because I want to win. But mostly because I want to put a dent in that stupid ego of yours."

" _My_ ego?" Thalia was astonished.

"I meant the hunters in general." Nico waved his hand dismissively. "You all think you're so high and mighty. You consider yourselves superior to men just because you swear off love." Nico shook his head in disgust. "The hunt is just a facade. It doesn't make you any better. It doesn't solve anything. Deep down you're all still the same little girls you started as."

Thalia took a deep breath, trying to control her emotions. "You will _not_ insult the hunt in front of my face."

Jason and Percy came between them.

"Don't," Jason shook his head slowly.

Footsteps sounded down the hall. Lanesra burst into the room, gasping for air like she'd just run a hundred-metre sprint.

Percy's eyes widened as she caught sight of her. Lanesra was deathly pale, tears running down her eyes. She let out a sob.

"Lanesra!" Thalia grabbed her around the shoulders. "What's happened?"

Piper slowly entered the room behind Lanesra, her face ashen. "There's something you have to see."


	8. Chapter 8

After escaping the hunters' sulfur trap, Annabeth headed towards the northern side of the woods in an attempt to link up with her team. Battered as she was, she could still fight and she knew that Camp Half-Blood would need every man they could get to repel the hunters' assault. But caution and the burning pain in her lungs made progress slow. The hunters were expert trackers and the last thing she wanted was to be caught again after escaping the trap.

The conch horn sounded before she could reach the creek, signalling the end of the game. Annabeth flexed her jaw unhappily, then altered her course to head south out of the woods. It was maddening not knowing who had won, but she consoled herself with the thought that no one could withstand Nico di Angelo.

She was almost to the edge of the woods when two young hunters emerged from the undergrowth to her right. The girls looked battered and tired, but their eyes lit up when they saw her.

"You're Annabeth," one recognised her.

"What're you doing here?" the second hunter asked. "The game's been over for hours."

"Seriously?" Annabeth blinked up at the sky, which had gone dark. "I heard the conch horn. I must have lost track of time. I can't move very quickly." She shuffled a couple of steps to show them.

"We're looking for some of our missing sisters," the second hunter said. "But we can help you back if you like."

Annabeth nodded, too tired to respond.

The girls, who both looked around nine, took her elbows. The three of them started off, moving slowly because of Annabeth.

A succession of snapping, tearing noises reached their ears, coming from somewhere to their left. Something was crashing through the forest, moving fast. Annabeth's ears pricked.

"Deer," a hunter guessed. "We see them all the time. It's like they're drawn to us."

The crashing noises came closer. "It'll probably come and say hello," the second hunter smiled.

Something felt wrong. Annabeth shook her head. "There are no deer in this forest." She stopped walking and fumbled for her weapons.

"What's wrong?" the hunters seemed oblivious. "Come on, the campfire's right there."

"Something's coming," Annabeth's heart started to speed up. "Get ready, we have to—"

The creature burst into view in a blur of black. Annabeth ducked and thrust out her drakon-bone sword even before her mind fully registered the threat, simultaneously throwing her dagger in a single, practiced motion. The two hunters were frozen to the spot. One loosed a short scream.

A hot wind gusted over Annabeth's head. A quiver went through her sword as it plunged into the unseen creature, then the blade was pulled from her grasp as the creature passed over her. A howl ripped through the forest.

The dull thud of a heavy impact came from behind her, immediately followed by a series of crashing noises as the monster tumbled into the undergrowth.

Annabeth shoulder-rolled forward and sprang to her feet, all the tiredness gone. She spun around, eyes scanning for her weapons.

She didn't need them. The hellhound dissolved, melting into shadows before her eyes. Her sword and dagger, which had pierced the monster's chest and shoulder, fell from the hellhound's vanishing body onto the forest floor. Annabeth's shoulders sagged as the tension went out of her, hissing a sigh of relief. She looked around for the two hunters, but they seemed to have vanished.

"It's okay," she called, almost doubling over as pain ignited in her lungs. "It's dead."

No one replied. Annabeth started to shuffle around, wondering if the girls had dived into the nearby bushes.

A glint of silver caught her eye, the moonlight reflecting off the hilt of a knife. The source was far in the undergrowth and it took Annabeth some time to reach it, pushing aside branches and ferns. Then she caught sight of the girl and her breath left her.

The hunter's neck lay at an unnatural angle. Her limbs were sprawled on the forest floor, spattered with dirt from the puddle of mud she was lying in. Her chest was wet and dark, glistening ribs showing through her shredded silver vest. She had a surprised look on her face that was already turning pale.

"Oh, no." Annabeth shuffled closer to have a better look. "No, no, no."

Her foot bumped into something. Annabeth looked down and gagged when she realised it was the severed head of the second hunter. She spund around and threw up into the dirt, even though her stomach was completely empty. Gasping hard from a mixture of pain and lack of air, she wiped her mouth as she straightened.

Through the trees she could see that the campfire was just beginning. Campers lined marshmallows around the blazing flame, singing loudly at the top of their lungs. Everyone was celebrating the massive victory.

Annabeth sheathed her knife, still covered in hellhound blood. Grimly, she started towards the flickering fire light. The celebrations were about to end.

 _How will the hunters react? Who's responsible? Find out (some of it) in the next chapter! As always, thanks for the views!_


	9. Chapter 9

"I didn't do this." Nico muttered.

Gravel crunched under his boots as he shifted his weight. Laid out on the grass before him was the body of the hunter Cynthia, pale and lifeless. Her head was near the hunters' flagpole where it'd originally been. He hadn't touched it.

A hellhound had butchered them, that much was clear, but how it had gained access to the woods was still a mystery. The barrier kept all monsters out. Not even hellhounds could shadow-travel in without permission. Someone had summoned it, Nico concluded. Someone inside the Camp. He turned to leave, yawning loudly as he strode through the woods. Leave that question for the morning. Right now he wanted to sleep.

The cabins were deserted as he crossed the commons area. Everyone was celebrating at the amphitheatre. Nico's quiet footfalls seemed unnaturally loud as he strolled back to his cabin. The silence might have seemed eerie to others, but Nico liked things quiet. It calmed his mind.

A skeleton dressed in a bathrobe opened the door for him. Nico frowned.

"That's _my_ bathrobe."

The skeleton patted the fluffy robe as if he liked how it felt on him.

"Fine." Nico shrugged off his jacket and hung it up. "But get me a new one. I don't want to catch a chill when I come out of the bath."

The skeleton saluted in a flash of fluffy robe, then scuttled out of the door.

The bath water was luxuriously warm and turned a light grey after a minute of scrubbing. Nico reached out with a dripping hand, pressing a button on a console to activate the pump. The grey water slowly drained out as fresh water came in from the tap. The temperature and water level both remained constant in the process and Nico sighed as he started to unwind at last. He closed his eyes and rested the back of his head on the rim of the tub.

He started awake two times before falling into a light sleep. When he next opened his eyes two hours had passed and the butler was back with a towel and a new robe, smelling of Chanel e _u de toilette_. Nico's face stretched into a lazy smile.

"This bathtub's good for two, although you'll have to sit in my lap. Not that I mind."

The hunter tossed the towels aside and drew her bow. "You bastard. We'll skin you alive for what you did."

"One, I didn't kill those girls." Nico reclined languidly in the tub, not caring about his modesty. "And two, do you really think I didn't notice you following me back here?"

The bathroom closet opened, revealing an array of towels and two skeletons identical to the first. They grabbed the hunter before she could react, pinning her arms to her sides. One of them handed Nico the towel.

"I think I'll go to bed now. The tub's all yours." Nico dried himself off and slipped into his pyjamas.

The hunter spat oaths as the skeletons bundled her into the bathtub in a splash of water. Nico chuckled as he closed the bathroom door, turning to face three other hunters who were all pinned to beds by more skeletons in Roman armour.

"A hunter in my bath, another in my bed, really, can this night get any better?"

The hunters, bound and gagged, glared daggers at him.

"Well, I'm not in the mood for anything kinky. I'll deal with you all in the morning. Have a good night." He fell onto his bed with an extravagant flourish, arranged himself, and settled to sleep.

A distant pounding reached Nico's ears, making him twitch. The son of Hades frowned slightly, trying to place the familiar sound. He seemed to remember hearing it somewhere…

The pounding steadily got louder, the sound seeming to drift into his ears. Nico's fingers curled. He swore he knew what it was…

"Nico!" a voice yelled. "Open the bloody door!" BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG.

His eyebrows lifted in realisation as his mind rose to full consciousness at last. He opened his eyes and sat up in bed, shrugging the covers off.

His eyes fell on the silver-clad girls, bound and and gagged on the bed across from his, and the memories of the previous night returned to his mind in a flash. Smiling broadly, he jumped to his feet, crossed to the door and flung it open to reveal Percy, Jason and Piper standing on his doorstep.

The movement was so sudden that all three of them were startled. Jason, committed to another solid knock, bopped Nico on the nose with his fist instead.

"Sorry," he gasped, mortified.

Nico grinned and put a finger to his lips. "Shhh. You'll wake the girls."

Thalia arrived five minutes later, sweating in the sun with her hood drawn tight around her head. Not bothering to knock, she slammed the doors open with a crash and marched in.

Nico followed behind her, thoroughly amused with the morning's proceedings. Thalia glared at the three bound hunters, fury showing in every line of her face.

"Found them here last night," Nico told her.

"And you waited until morning to tell us?" Piper asked.

"It was late," Nico waved her off. "Didn't want to rouse everybody."

"Just what," Thalia growled at the girls. "Did you think you were doing?"

One of them spat the gag out of her mouth. "He should _die_ for what he did-"

"I told you, I had nothing to do with the deaths." Nico interrupted.

"Enough!" Thalia shouted. "Get back to Cabin Eight. _Five_ minutes to pull on all your gear. I'm grounding you in Cabin Eight. When Artemis gets back you're going to regret it."

"What about breakfast?" one of them asked.

"You want breakfast?" Thalia stepped up to the hunter. Her fist smashed into the hunter's mouth, knocking her back into a skeleton. "I've had it with the lot of you! You disobeyed my direct orders, broke curfew and attempted murder of a camper. You're lucky I don't leave you here to rot!"

The three girls stumbled to their feet, trying to work the circulation back into their cramped limbs. "This isn't over," one of them told Nico as she passed him.

Nico pulled back his arm and struck her in the side of her neck so quickly that even Thalia, standing at his side, could only flinch. The hunter's eyes watered as she collapsed onto his porch.

"Anyone else think it isn't over?"

The remaining hunters' eyes were wide with shock. Nico shook his head in disgust. " _Get out._ "

The girls hurried out. Thalia gaped at him.

"How did you-"

"How do you think I got your flag?"

"Never mind." Thalia's glare returned as she turned towards the retreating forms of her hunters. "I'll see you at lunch. Right now I have three idiots to crucify." She stalked off towards Cabin Eight.

"She's too soft on them." Nico muttered. He gave Percy, Jason and Piper a glance. "Oh yeah, what brought you here?"

Jason cleared his throat. "Chiron's asked to see you at the Big House. It's important."

"Well, _I_ haven't had breakfast yet," Nico opened a cupboard to look for some clean clothes. "Tell him I'll be there in about an hour."

There was no arguing with him and they knew it. Jason, Percy and Piper sighed collectively and left.

Alone at last, Nico tossed his pyjamas onto the bed as he headed for a shower. He stepped into the bathroom, reached for the tap, then stopped.

The fourth hunter, who'd been in the bathtub the entire night, returned his gaze with a look of fury that slowly turned to fear as she realised the situation. Nico slapped his hand to his forehead. "I completely forgot about you. You may go now. Thalia will be wondering where you are."

The skeleton that had been clinging to her the whole night released her, going limp in the bath like someone had pressed its off button. Her cheeks burning, she hauled herself out of the water and all but fled the room. Nico glanced down at himself, suddenly realising he'd removed all his clothes. "Oops."


	10. Chapter 10

_Well here we are, the tenth chapter! What a milestone. Honestly I never dreamed this story would become so long. I apologise for the long wait, though, I've been busy with my FYP._

"Someone summoned it." Nico said. "Someone inside Camp."

"But who?" Piper asked. "Who would do such a thing?"

Nico's breakfast over, they were meeting in the Big House to discuss the situation.

"Someone with a grudge against the hunters," Jason guessed.

"When I find this person," Thalia growled. "I'm going to make him _wish_ he was dead."

"How though?" Percy asked. "Grill everyone until they confess?"

"The mechanism of summoning a hellhound isn't common knowledge." Chiron, who'd been silent so far, said thoughtfully. "Whoever did this is not an average camper."

"Someone senior, then." Jason said. "Like one of the head counsellors."

"Or a child of Hecate," Percy added.

"That's possible too." Chiron nodded.

There was one thing Nico couldn't figure out. "If someone knew how to do it, why hadn't they done it before? These things used to happen all the time, didn't they?"

"They did," Chiron agreed.

"Whoever it was had no reason to do it before," Piper hypothesised. "Until the hunters came."

"It's likely to be someone who has close connections with the hunters," Nico told Thalia. "Ask your girls if they know anyone whom they might have offended."

"Just as likely to be a prank from the Hermes campers." Percy pointed out.

"Can't we rule _somebody_ out?" Thalia said exasperatedly. "If there's no progress to report back the hunters they might go on a rampage."

"You're the lieutenant. You can't keep them in line?" Nico asked.

"Imagine if five of your sisters had just been killed. Do you _think_ you'll be able to stay in line? It's bad enough that they hate this place. I can barely keep them under control. They could destroy this place if they wanted to."

"They could try." Nico snorted.

"I'm serious."

"Oh, I believe you." Nico said. "I just don't believe they can destroy the whole camp."

Thalia gave an exasperated sigh. _What_ was this guy's problem? "They have explosive arrows. There's over thirty hunters. A single volley could wipe out all the cabins."

Jason shook his head. "Thalia's right. This is serious."

"Anti-violence spells?" Percy suggested. "The Hecate cabin could whip something up."

"The hunters are trained to disable such things. It won't work." Thalia said.

Nico pounded his fist on the table. "Set a sting."

"Sting?" Thalia asked.

"Get the hunters out of the cabin. Go to the beach or something. We'll create an opening for the assassin to strike again, but this time we'll be ready."

"That could actually work." Piper nodded. "Thalia?"

"Maybe," she tilted her head as she mulled it over. "I'll see if I can get them out on an exercise or something."

"It has to be a convincing reason," Jason pointed out. "Otherwise your assassin might see through it."

"I'll think of a good one," Thalia sighed as she stood from the table. "Meanwhile I better get back before they start a riot."

They carried out the sting that very evening.

The bodies of the dead hunters had been cleaned and dressed, but unlike Camp Half-Blood the hunters buried their dead. Chiron and the dryads had created a small clearing in the woods large enough for a small hut made completely of silver. Inside the hut were the stone graves of the five hunters, laid out in silver coffins with their weapons by their sides.

"This place is sacred ground," Thalia told the assembled hunters. "Only followers of Artemis will be able to find it."

All the hunters were sniffling and weeping. Annabeth and Piper passed a box of tissues around as Thalia gave a short eulogy.

"Nothing," Nico muttered, watching the group of girls with a pair of binoculars. "The hunters are better hidden than Percy's box of cookies."

"Percy has cookies?" Annabeth, who'd heard him through the comlink, blinked, surprised, before resuming her scrutiny of the hunters' surroundings. "I didn't know."

"How did _you_ know about them?" Percy asked incredulously.

"You had a crumb on your face when you arrived for breakfast two mornings ago." Nico replied. "Where else would that have come from?"

"Guys, I'm not seeing anything." Jason was fifty metres above the canopy of leaves. "There's no air movement outside the shrine."

"Not a soul around for half a mile," Nico confirmed. "Not even a monster. Looks like our assassin isn't coming."

"This is such a stupid idea," Annabeth growled under her breath. "Why would the assassin take on a crowd of heavily armed hunters?"

Nico slapped a palm to his forehead. "You're right. Ugh, I can't believe I didn't think of that."

"What are we going to do now?" Piper asked.

"Back to the drawing board," Annabeth groaned.

"The assassin might still show up." Percy said hopefully.

"Highly unlikely," Annabeth concluded. "But we'll keep watching until the hunters leave. Just in case."

A few of the hunters who'd been particularly close to the fallen sisters stayed in the forest for the entire night, much to Nico's annoyance. It was seven in the morning when, sleep-deprived and irritable, he headed out of the woods and back to his cabin.

His skeleton butler opened the door for him, this time smartly dressed in a suit and bow tie.

"I'm not even going to ask where you got that." Nico grunted. He kicked the door shut with his heel and threw his sword belt into the umbrella holder. "Stupid hunters. I don't know why I bother watching over them. They bloody deserve to die."

He pulled his clothes off and headed for the bath, half-tripping as he shuffled out of his jeans.

The warm water was too much this time and he fell asleep in the bath. He would probably have continued soaking until he dissolved in the water if not for the explosion fifteen minutes later.

"What the—?" The sleep evaporated from Nico's mind just as a second impact shook the ground, making the bath water ripple. Nico jumped out of the tub in a single fluid motion, landing impressively on both feet in a shower of soapy water droplets. "Not even an hour of sleep!" he roared furiously.

Two skeletons dried him off as he stepped into his pants while the butler buttoned a shirt around him. Nico stormed out of the bathroom, grabbed his sword and flung open the door.

Smoke reached his nose, making him twitch in reaction, then the flickering flames and flying silver arrows caught his eye. "Oh, holy shit." He shook his head, part amused, part shocked at the sudden turn of events. "It's about to get real."

The Hermes cabin next to his, partially collapsed, was on fire. Flames roared twice the height of the old, wooden building. As Nico watched, the damaged roof caved in, sending a fresh eruption of smoke and a shower of embers into the sky. Heat blasted him in the face like dragon breath.

Over the crackling flames a new, more familiar sound reached his ears, the metallic clash of sword on sword. Through the billowing smoke partially obscuring his vision he saw flashes of light reflected off weapons, people struggling against each on both sides of the circle of cabins. Amongst the more numerous orange Camp t-shirts were the distinct silvery garb of the Hunters of Artemis. Nico swore as he realised Thalia's worst fears had been realised. Artemis's handmaidens had gone on a rampage.

"That's it," Nico muttered. "I'm done being a nice guy."

Skeletons marched out of the Hades cabin in a double file, Nico's butler, now dressed in a leather jacket and jeans like a biker, in the lead. He carried a heavy length of chain in one hand that he started to wrap around his fist. In his other he had a Stygian Iron knife that he handed to Nico.

Behind him came ten others clad in full Roman armour. They carried long _Spatha_ swords and round Greek-style shields with an assortment of other weapons strapped to their backs.

The last two skeletons were from Nico's closet and were dressed in fluffy white bathrobes that immediately turned black with soot from the billowing smoke. Nico scowled at the robes until they held up baseball bats.

"Fine," he snapped. "You, you and you," he pointed to the three bathroom attendants. "Do something about that." He jerked a thumb at the fire.

He turned his gaze back to the other cabins just as a second building caught fire. Flames rolled out of Cabin Ten's windows as an unseen incendiary detonated inside. Half its roof blasted upwards in an explosion of smoke. The other half collapsed. Nico could hear the Aphrodite campers screaming from across the commons area.

He drew his sword and stabbed it into the dirt. "Come join the party."

The ground erupted as more skeletons clawed their way to the surface. There were ten of them in total. These skeletons were dressed in rags under Greek breastplates and helmets. All of them carried short Spartan gut-cutters and large metal shields.

Scanning the scene, Nico realised most of the fighting was either on his side of the row of cabins or across the field at the Artemis cabin. The Artemis side's conflict seemed particularly fierce, while on his side the campers were mostly unarmed and were getting a pummelling from the Hunters of Artemis.

"Right," he pulled his sword out of the ground. "You ten with me." He pointed to the Roman skeletons. "We're going to break things up on this side. You lot," He pointed to the Greeks. "Get over there and teach those little girls a lesson." He pointed his sword at the Artemis cabin.

Both groups saluted and headed out. Nico broke into a run towards the Ares cabin where, unsurprisingly, the campers seemed to be putting up the most fight.

A sudden wind came howling out of nowhere, a powerful gale that blasted all the smoke from the battlefield in an instant. Thunder boomed, making Nico's eyeballs rattle in their sockets. He realised that either Thalia or Jason must have gotten wind of the situation. A spear of lightning split the sky, another peal of thunder, then rain fell.

In an instant the entire area was blotted from sight. It was a cloudburst, a torrent, a seething pelting storm that churned the grassy field into mud. Nico yelled curses into the wind as water fell into his eyes, obscuring his vision and making him blink.

"Damned children of Zeus!" he spat, even though he knew the rain would help put out the fire.

Ever-prepared, he pulled a pair of swimming goggles from his jacket pocket and put them on, wincing as the elastic band flattened one of his ears. He ran on towards the Ares cabin, knowing that the two groups would kill each other if he didn't intervene.

The first combatants to come into sight were a pair of girls, both hunters. They were peering hopelessly into the rain, trying to take aim with their bows. Nico ignored them, running past towards the bigger fight ahead. The hunters gave an exclamation of surprise as he ran past them, taking aim at his back as it disappeared into the rain, but before they could fire a line of skeletons ploughed into them from behind, knocking them to the ground in a stampede of skeletal feet. The teenage girls yelled as the Roman legionnaires fell on them with batons and clubs.

The next hunter Nico saw was more alert and levelled her bow at him as the boy appeared out of the rain, but Nico was already too close and swung with his sword, knocking her bow aside, and punched her in the face. The girl swung her bow at him as she reeled backwards, pulled a knife and swiped at him. Nico leaned back from the two blows, blocked a third, then his skeletons arrived to shoulder-barge the hunter to the ground. The teenage girl spat oaths at him before a skeleton slammed her head into the mud, knocking her out.

Nico and his skeletons had arrived to the main fight at last. Campers and hunters fought in twos and threes, cursing in the rain as they hacked and slashed at each other. Already several lay groaning on the ground. Nico's only consolation was that there seemed to be an equal number of casualties on both sides.

"Take them all down." Once the Ares campers had been whipped into a frenzy Nico knew there was no reasoning with them.

Nico and the skeletons plunged into battle. The skeletons fought with batons instead of their swords, trying to minimise the damage. Nico himself tried to use the flat of his blade, but the Hunters were no mean fighters and he quickly realised he was taking too much time. He cut one hunter down, sweeping low with his sword to sever a leg muscle, then darted away into the rain before she could react. He moved fast among the fighting groups, cutting and vanishing before they even realised he was there. He moved towards three hunters as they beat an Apollo camper to the ground in a rain of blows, but by the time they realised his presence it was already too late. Nico cut the first one across the back as she straightened. The second turned, blade out, and Nico's knife hilt connected with her temple, knocking her out. The third lunged for him and Nico caught her arm, snapped it, kicked her in the knee and ducked away.

Caught unawares in the downpour and occupied with fighting each other, the first few brawlers went down easily. Then the hunters realised they were being picked off and started to get organised.

The fighting was frenzied and chaotic. Nico could see nothing through the wind and rain. Hunters suddenly seemed to come from all directions. He disarmed one and kicked her in the stomach, then two others rushed in from behind and he spun around, swinging his sword in a wide arc. The hunters were fast and trained and both ducked under his sword, lunging up with blades out. Nico stepped fast back, a knife flashing past his face. His own knife swept out in response and a hunter gasped as she dropped her blades, her forearms nearly severed. Nico back-cut her savagely, sidestepped and shoved her into the second girl, then grunted as a piercing pain erupted in his back. A third hunter had snuck up behind him and stabbed him with a knife; she now ripped the blade free, sending up a spray of blood that instantly diluted in the rain. The hunter ducked and kicked him in the back of the knee. Nico fell hard into the mud.

"Murderer!" the hunter yelled.

Her hesitation was her downfall. One moment the black knife was in Nico's hands, the next he'd plunged it backhand into the hunter's leg. The first hunter came from the front and Nico's sword cut her down.

There seemed to be no end to the silver-clad girls. Another charged out of the rain as Nico levered himself up. The girl swung high and early, a beginner's mistake. Nico dropped back down and the girl ran herself onto his sword.

"Little girls." Nico plucked the silver knife from her fluttering fingers and brought it down on her head. "Don't worry. You'll live."

An icy pain was beginning to fill his chest. Nico took a deep breath, gasping slightly as he felt something gurgle. "Missed my heart by a whisker. Those bitches."

Then Lanesra appeared out of the rain. "You." she growled, seeing the fallen hunters and silver knife in his grip.

"What do you think you're doing?" Nico yelled. "You want to kill everyone in Camp?"

"You murdered my sisters." Lanesra drew back her bow. "You don't deserve to live!"

"Go on, then." Nico said calmly. "Don't keep my old man waiting."

Lanesra screamed in fury and released the shot. Nico vanished.

The experienced Hunter spun around immediately, realising he'd shadow-travelled, but Nico was cannier and had shadow-travelled in front of her rather than behind. Lanesra froze as she felt Nico's blade at her throat.

"Too slow, Second Lieutenant." Nico smiled despite his sudden exhaustion. He kicked her in the back of her knee, bringing her down. "Drop your bow. Hands where I can see them."

Lanesra obeyed, shaking with rage. Nico nodded. "Good girl."

A roaring sound filled Lanesra's ears. She surged upwards, both arms grabbing for her knives without her conscious control.

Nico raked sword and knife across the back of her upper arms as she rose. Lanesra howled in pain and Nico kicked her into the mud.

"One of these days," Nico planted his boot between her shoulderblades as she struggled to rise. "That attitude is going to get you killed." He tapped her skull with the flat of his blade, knocking her out.

The rain was beginning to stop at last as Nico stepped over the unconscious girl. Nico pulled his goggles off and blinked a few times, surveying the scene.

Hunters and campers lay groaning on the ground. His ten skeletons stood over them, silver arrows and knives sticking out of their bones. Everyone was covered in mud.

Chiron came galloping up, longbow in hand. His expression was a mixture of sorrow and anger as he took in the carnage, the armed skeletons, and finally stopping at Nico. "Nico…"

Nico sighed. "I didn't do it."

 _If you've made it to the end still standing, like Nico, leave me a review. As always, thanks for reading!_


	11. Chapter 11

The whole thing had started because of a knife.

"Are you kidding me?" Nico yelled, then winced because the outburst had caused a sharp pain from the wound in his chest. " _A knife?_ "

"Yes." Thalia's shoulders were slumped, her head in her hands. "When we got back from the funeral, Brittney noticed one of her knives was missing. One of our owls reported a figure in black entering the cabin and leaving in the night. The hunters marched out to search the other cabins immediately."

"What happened then?" Annabeth asked.

"They just stormed in and started overturning things." Thalia sounded as exhausted as she looked. "When you do that to the Ares cabin…"

"Some of the other cabins came out fighting as well." Jason reported. "The whole thing spilled over into a massive brawl."

"And the Hermes cabin?" Chiron asked. "Why did they set it on fire?"

"That's where they found the knife." Thalia sighed.

"Thankfully the Hermes campers were out at sword practice." Percy said. "If they had been in the cabin when it blew up…"

"There was _one_ guy inside." Nico said darkly. "My butlers managed to pull him out."

"Dead?" Thalia asked, afraid of the answer.

"No," Nico snarled. "Just third degree burns covering fifty percent of his body."

"Oh, shit." Thalia covered her face with her hands. "I'm so sorry."

"Don't tell that to me," Nico growled. "Tell it to him."

"The Aphrodite cabin managed to evacuate without injuries." Piper reported. "But the entire cabin is gutted. We need somewhere else to sleep until the interior is replaced."

"They can have the rooms in the Big House," Chiron offered.

"What about Hermes?" Percy asked. "They don't even _have_ a cabin."

"They'll have to room in the Big House as well." Chiron decided. "There's nowhere else to go."

"Infirmary's sent a report." Jason slid a piece of paper across the table. Twenty beds occupied, the same again in discharged wounded. And that's not including the Hunters, who refused our treatment."

"About half that number from the Hunt," Thalia's muttered. "We've got our own healers."

"This is a catastrophe," Annabeth said. "We're lucky nobody died."

"Thanks to Nico's skeleton army." Percy gave the son of Hades a nod.

"You did well to take control of the situation immediately." Chiron told him. "If your skeletons had arrived even a moment later, someone might have been killed."

"We need to find a way to prevent this from happening again." Annabeth declared.

"Remove their weapons and they're harmless as dolls." Nico said.

"That's not enough." Jason shook his head slowly. "They can't remain in Cabin Eight, not with what's happened. That's too close to the other cabins."

"Where else can they go?" Percy asked. "The Big House is already full with Hermes and Aphrodite campers."

"Bunker Nine?" Annabeth suggested, referring to the massive hangar in the woods.

"The Hephaestus campers would never allow that." Chiron shook his head.

"They're hunters," Nico pointed out. "Ask them to camp in the woods."

"Bad idea." Thalia shook her head slowly. "Keeping them under house arrest or moving them out of Cabin Eight is one thing. Denying them a roof altogether? You're asking for another riot."

"After what they did to that Hermes guy, I might just _want_ one." Nico snarled.

"Not that I'm trying to make things hard for you," Percy told Thalia. "But what else can we do? It's either that or the beach."

"Hunters love the woods," Nico sneered. "They'll feel right at home."

"We can't do that." Thalia glanced around the table, looking for support, but nobody would meet her eye. "This…no!"

Chiron put a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry, Thalia," he said gently. "We have no choice."

The commons area was silent as the Hunters filed out of Cabin Eight. Chiron had declared a full curfew, carrying his longbow and quiver to enforce the rule. Alongside him stood Jason, Percy, Annabeth, Piper and Nico. There were also twenty skeletons in Roman armour, all with weapons drawn. Nico wore a black stab-proof vest over padded impact-resistant armour. He carried three long knives in addition to an arsenal of throwing blades, enough to take down the whole hunt if necessary. He knew the hunters still thought he was responsible for the deaths of the girls in the woods. He would leave nothing to chance despite the presence of lethal archer Chiron.

Each hunter threw her weapons to the ground in front of the door as she passed. Nico eyed the growing pile of weapons, shining in morning sun, then shifted his gaze to the sullen girls, some of whom were wearing silver jackets despite the summer heat. His eyes narrowed.

When everyone had emerged from the cabin, Annabeth and Piper approached with metal detectors.

"What's this?" Lanesra's head snapped up at the sight of the flashing wands.

"Please place all articles of metal into this tray." Annabeth announced. "Rings, Jewellery, piercings."

"We already surrendered all our weapons." Lanesra growled.

"You might have forgotten a couple of things," Piper said in a measured voice.

"Are you kidding me?" Lanesra clenched her fists.

Nico's skeletons took a collective step forward, iron studded boots thumping into the ground with deliberate force. "Don't make her ask again." The son of Hades shouted.

Lanesra swore and removed her boots, revealing four small knives hidden in them, then pulled off her jacket that had two short swords, six grenades and a glittering array of polished throwing stars hidden in the lining.

Annabeth and Piper went down the line, collecting an incredulous amount of folding knives, throwing blades and silver darts. Almost every hunter had concealed weapons under their clothes and Annabeth's tray soon became so full that the piled items began to slide off.

"Forget it." Annabeth stopped one hunter who was about to deposit six hunting knives onto the almost-cascading pile. "Just dump your stuff on the ground.

The next hunter put her arms out for Piper's metal detector. Piper swept up one leg, stopped at her abdomen, then the wand beeped just as she was about to pass it down the other. Piper frowned. "What's that?"

"I have a piercing." the hunter said flatly.

Nico rolled her eyes. "Good one."

"You want me to show you?" the hunter glared at him.

"Yes." Nico glared back.

"No," Annabeth countered before the hunter could explode. "On to the next one."

"Can't be hiding much down there anyway," Jason, standing beside Nico, muttered. "She's wearing tight jeans.

Nico gave him a glance, wondering if he was making a joke of some sort, but the son of Jupiter was his usual serious self. Nico scoffed.

"You never know. Depends on how big…" he trailed off, suddenly remembering that some of the hunters had superhuman hearing.

Percy slapped a palm to his forehead. "Nico, that's just your big imagination going where it shouldn't."

"What's big?" Jason asked cluelessly, then his eyes widened. "You can't mean…" His eyes darted to the girl, then down to the pocket knives in Annabeth's tray. "I thought that they, um, they were…they've never…had anything in there before?"

"Nonsense," Nico's eyes were narrow slits under the shadow of his helmet as he scrutinised the hunters. "Could be an extendable baton in there. Secret service agents do that all the time."

Jason opened his mouth, then closed it again. Hardly anyone ever won these debates with Nico.

Thalia was the last one in the line, but Annabeth waved her off. "You can keep your weapons."

Scowling, furious and completely unarmed, the hunters headed off towards the woods, Nico's skeletons and Chiron at their backs. Two vans filled with their wounded followed. Nico sheathed his sword.

"That's over," Jason murmured.

Nico grunted in response, then trudged off toward his cabin. His head was sore and his wound had begun to ache. He decided he needed another bath before his afternoon nap.

"How're you holding up?" Annabeth asked as she stepped through the doorway of the tent.

"Hi." Thalia had her back to the doorway and turned around as Annabeth came in, zipping her black jacket up to her neck and pulling the hood onto her head. "Great timing. We're headed to the beach."

"In _that_ outfit?" Annabeth raised an eyebrow.

" _Yes,_ " Thalia huffed. "Until my hair grows out long enough for me to chop the pink part off."

"You could shave your head." Piper suggested as she came into the tent behind Annabeth.

"Ha ha." Thalia buckled on her knife belt and slung her bow over her shoulder. She grabbed her silver bracelet from her desk, clipping it onto her wrist. "Let's go."

Unfortunately the beach was a popular hangout. Almost half of Camp Half-Blood was camped on the sandy shore, soaking up the sun and warmth. Unfortunately, that meant that the twenty hunters didn't have much room.

"Oh, heyyy," a few Apollo campers, who were the closest to the newly-arrived hunters, grinned at them from their blankets.

Annabeth marched up to them. "Move."

"What for?" one asked.

"Move, or you'll be moved." Thalia arrived beside Annabeth, her shadow looming over the Apollo campers'.

"You can't lay a finger on us," an Apollo girl smiled. "We'll tell Chiron."

There had been a strict no-brawling rule ever since the bloody battle three days ago.

" _I'll_ move you," Annabeth threatened. "You want to fight me?"

The Apollo campers glared at her, then grumbled and started packing up. Annabeth went off to evict a few other groups, eventually creating enough space for the hunters.

Thalia sighed, feeling her stress levels lower by about ten percent. The Hunters tossed a silver square of cloth the size of a hand towel onto the sand, which expanded into a giant blanket the size of a volleyball court. A buffet table popped up on one end of the blanket, several cooler boxes on the other. Thalia grinned as she opened one.

"Coke?" she held up a can. "Help yourselves. I'm in the mood for champagne."

At the other end of the cooler boxes, a hunter pulled out a champagne bottle and popped the cork. Annabeth caught sight of campers gaping incredulously from the other half of the beach and laughed.

"Wow." Piper stared in awe as Percy rode the wave to its peak, doing a three-sixty spin as he launched off the crest into the air.

"Not bad." Thalia said.

"He's good." Annabeth smiled.

Then all three of them cracked up laughing as Percy overbalanced on the way down and smacked face first into the water.

"Still working on the landing." Annabeth shook her head. "Oh, Seaweed Brain."

Percy resurfaced, shaking water out of his eyes, and clambered back onto his board. Another wave began to form as he started paddling out to sea.

"Go ahead." Thalia saw the look on Annabeth's face. "Join him."

"I'd be leaving you here though," Annabeth said politely.

"It's fine." Thalia raised her champagne glass. "I've got company."

"Thanks," Annabeth stood, brushing sand off her clothes. "Be back soon."

"Think I'll give it a go as well." Piper drained her champagne flute and tossed it onto the sand. "I never get good waves unless Percy is around."

"Show him how it's done," Thalia grinned.

Campers whistled and called as the two girls rode waves. Thalia rolled her eyes, then flicked her hand, causing a strong gust of wind to topple all three surfers at the top of a wave. She cackled with laughter as they went under, sputtering and flailing.

"THALIA!" Annabeth yelled as she resurfaced.

"What are you gonna do about it, Chase?" Thalia yelled back.

Annabeth yelled something unintelligible and turned away, swimming to retrieve her board. Thalia chuckled and poured some more champagne. She was sweating in her hood and grabbed an orange juice box from a cooler box, stabbing the straw in and downing half the pack in two long sucks.

A shadow fell over her. "Nice afternoon for the beach, isn't it?"

Thalia squinted up, seeing only a boy's silhouette against the glare of the sun. After a few seconds she recognised the tousled hair. "Nico?"

"A serial killer is on the loose and you're having a beach party?" Nico looked furious. "You might as well kill yourselves right now."

"Well what else can we do?" Thalia tossed her juice box onto the sand. "We don't have any leads."

"That's because you haven't bothered _looking_ for one." Nico snarled. He glared at the large blanket with the buffet table and drinks. "Bean brains, all of you. Come with me. I've been talking to your dead hunters. You'll want to hear what they said."

"Arrows." Thalia repeated. "You're sure it was arrows?"

"Yes." Cynthia's ghostly form shone like a hologram. "Someone shot me from behind as I was trying to get up. "I felt it."

"So, an archer." Nico concluded.

"Did you see who it was?" Thalia asked.

"No," Cynthia replied. "But as I was lying on the ground she walked past me. She has small feet."

"It's a she?" Thalia asked. "How do you know?"

"I heard her voice. She said, 'enjoy Elysium, bitches'."

"Thank you, Cynthia," Nico told her. "That's all."

"You're welcome." the dead hunter replied. "And, Nico?"

"Yeah?"

"When you catch her, make it painful."

"Of course." Nico flicked his wrist and Cynthia's holgram evaporated.

"At least that narrows it down." Thalia sighed. "But why did the assassin summon a hellhound if she could do it herself?"

"Because she can't be in two places at once." Nico guessed. "Also, what better way to disguise the cause of death?"

"Makes sense." Thalia agreed. "So what now?"

"A girl with small feet who can shoot." Nico pounded his fist into his palm. "There are thirteen suspects who fit the bill in Camp Half-Blood. Ten of them have an alibi."

"And you didn't tell all of us because…?"

"Call it a hunch." Nico sounded troubled. "I've been feeling uneasy ever since the attack. I don't think it's that simple." He stood.

"Suspect number one is currently at the archery range. Number two is at the beach."

"Number three?" Thalia asked.

"She never arrived at Camp." Nico flexed his jaw. "After this I'm going to find her."

"We should tell Chiron and the others." Thalia said. "They could help us—"

"They wouldn't believe me." Nico scoffed. "These girls are twelve, thirteen years old. No one will think they're killers."

"Then why are you going after them?"

Nico scoffed. "When has anything stopped me from doing anything? Age is just a number."

 _Things are heating up. There will be some action coming in the next chapter. There's gonna be a twist, though. As always, thanks for viewing!_


	12. Chapter 12

"Where were you the night we played Capture The Flag?" Nico demanded.

The twelve-year-old girl shrunk away from him, looking scared. "I was in the woods."

"You weren't supposed to be in the woods." Nico growled. "So why were you there?"

"I…wanted to get a close-up view of the game."

"I know you're lying," Nico warned. "I'm not in the mood for games."

"Fine." The girl turned slightly pink. "I was meeting Martin."

Nico stared at her for a second, incredulous, then groaned and turned away.

"Why do you care anyway?" The girl looked cross.

"I don't," Nico muttered. "See you around."

The second girl at the beach was splashing around with her friends, laughing and shouting.

"No way am I setting foot in the water," Nico grunted.

"Can't swim?" Thalia asked.

"Poseidon won't like it." he explained.

"I've swam before." Thalia said.

"You're the lieutenant of Artemis." Nico stared at the girl as she disappeared briefly beneath the waves before reappearing again. "And you're a girl."

"So?"

Nico gave her a glance. "Never mind."

Thalia frowned, then turned her attention back to the girl. "I'll get her."

"Why were you in the woods?" Thalia demanded.

The girl eyed Thalia warily, seawater dripping down her chin. The silence stretched.

"Answer me." Thalia reached out to grab her by the throat. Nico blocked her.

"Don't."

"Touch her and you're dead." The girl's friends had gathered behind her, backed up by several other campers who'd been drawn in by the sight of the hunter dragging the struggling girl up the beach. Thalia bristled, but while she was sure she could handle them, as Artemis's lieutenant she was under pressure to set the example by sticking to the rules. Tensions remained high between campers and hunters and in the distance she could see a few of her hunters starting to take notice of the confrontation. If she started a fight now the whole beach would pile in, resulting in another brawl that could easily turn bloody, judging by the campers' hands creeping towards their pockets.

"Are you gonna stare at me all day?" The girl, emboldened by the campers' support, bristled back.

Nico stepped between them, signalling Thalia to step back with a light tug on her shoulder.

"I'll give you once chance to drop your attitude, or I'll drop it for you." he told her.

The girl suddenly looked unsure. Thalia, she knew, was bound by the rules, but Nico di Angelo was a completely different picture. Every camper had heard of how he'd almost single-handedly captured the hunters' flag on Friday's game, taking down almost a quarter of the hunters in the process. Unlike Thalia he didn't have a reputation for following rules and the girl was scared.

"Hey!" The girl's boyfriend appeared, pushing his way through the crowd. He barged into Nico, shoving him to the ground. "What do you think you're-" He trailed off as he caught sight of the skull ring on Nico's finger, suddenly realising who he was. He backed up quickly, swallowing hard. "I didn't mean to…"

Nico picked himself up, livid. "You wanna mess with me?"

The boy shook with fear. He didn't dare respond.

Nico turned back to the girl. "Well?"

The girl shifted her weight. She looked like she was about to respond, then glanced at Thalia and remained silent.

"What…were…you…doing…in…the…woods?" Nico took a step forward, putting them nose-to-nose.

"All right, stop." An older guy stepped forward, pulling the girl away from him. Nico recognised him as one of the Hermes campers. "We wanted to sabotage the hunters' game. That's the big secret."

Thalia eyed him warily. "That so?"

"You wanna hook me to a polygraph?" The guy stared back, unflinching. "Just let her off. She's thirteen, for Olympus's sake. It's just a prank."

Thalia swore in disbelief, raising her eyes to the sky. Nico threw his hands up. "You're all bloody wasting my time."

He drew his sword and everybody backed away, eyes wide. Nico slashed his sword through the air and disappeared in a swirl of black.

Thalia sighed as she trudged back to the hunters' setup, ignoring the campers' stares at her back. Two full weeks since the attack and they weren't any closer to solving the mystery.

One of her white wolves came running up to her, dodging campers' attempts to pet it as it raced across the beach. It skidded to a stop in front of her, yipping in a frenzy.

"Not now, Snowy," Thalia sighed.

A hawk screech reached her ears. Thalia's head snapped up. Above her, the bird circled twice before landing on her shoulder.

Artemis's hawks only called when they sensed trouble. Snowy yipped again and this time Thalia understood.

"Oh, no."

More wolves came rushing down the beach toward the hunters' blanket in a cacophony of howls, followed by a few screaming hawks. Thalia's blood ran cold as she saw the hunters drop what they were doing. Some of them had a look of horror on their faces. Others started to run inland.

"Thalia!" Piper splashed through the water towards her. "What's going on?"

"We need to get to the woods." Even as Thalia spoke her heart sank. "Right now."

Thalia crashed through the woods in a blur of black, sacrificing stealth for breakneck speed. Sweat poured under her hooded jacket. Her breath came in ragged gasps, yet for all her effort she knew it was too late.

She cursed herself for being so stupid. An assassin was at large, and they'd left all the wounded hunters alone, without weapons, in the middle of the forest. They had played right into the assassin's hands.

Branches bent out of her way as the nature spirits sensed her distress. Trees and bushes seemed to shift, forming a clear path into the centre of the woods. An eerie wailing noise reached her ears; the forest sending out a distress call. Thalia poured on the speed.

A scream rang out from ahead of her. The sound seemed to linger in the air.

"No!" Thalia gasped. Her lungs burning, she forced herself on.

Lanesra burst out of the undergrowth ahead of her, her swimsuit torn and shredded from running through the forest. "Thalia!" she screamed. "Three o' clock!"

Thalia threw herself to the ground, crashing into a large bush. A moment later an explosion rocked the ground, tossing her into the air. Thalia's body went on autopilot, twisting catlike through the air to land on her feet, and in her mind she was desperately hoping that the assassin was not skilled enough to shoot her in midair.

The assassin was skilled enough. An arrow flicked out of the trees toward her, but it's path was slightly off because Lanesra had stood and flung a rock towards the assassin's position. Pain exploded across Thalia's scalp as the arrow sliced across her head. Part of her ponytail unravelled as blood ran down her hair. The assassin batted the rock out of the air and fired again. Lanesra went down with a pained cry, two arrows buried in her gut.

Thalia howled with rage as she surged to her feet, shield up. Another explosive arrow struck her shield, engulfing her in a cloud of flames, but Thalia remained standing, anger dulling the pain as heat seared her skin. As the fire and smoke cleared, she straightened and threw her spear with all her strength. Before it could hit the target she had drawn one of her knives and sent it after the spear.

The assassin deflected both attacks easily, but the distraction had allowed Thalia to close with her remaining knife. The assassin fired again, but Thalia had built momentum and gritted her teeth, forcing herself forward against the force of the explosion. Thalia emerged from the flames like an avenging angel of death, the gorgon image of Medusa gleaming in the centre of her shield.

A weighted net crashed into her, knocking her to the ground. An arrow deflected off her shield as she curled up Spartan style behind it. Another pierced her leg before she could tuck it in. Thalia screamed as she was hit by another explosive arrow, the impact hammering her against the ground. Dazed and deafened by the massive blow, she waited, expecting death.

Instead she heard a slightly out-of-breath yell as Percy Jackson came puffing and panting onto the scene in his swimming trunks and flip flops, covered in sand from the beach. The assassin fired a net at him and he cut it in half with Riptide. He thrust his sword at the assassin and the ground shook, a powerful jet of water erupting right below the branch the assassin was perched in and throwing her into the air. The assassin crashed through the trees, hitting the ground with a big thump. She staggered to her feet, slightly dazed.

Percy threw his sword. The assassin deflected it easily, then looked surprised as Percy pulled his pen once more from his pocket. A short distance behind him Piper and Annabeth crashed through the forest towards them, while from behind her came the unmistakable sound of galloping hooves; Chiron the centaur, almost certainly armed. The assassin pulled a smoke bomb from her belt and threw it at her feet. Black smoke exploded out, engulfing the forest in darkness. By the time Percy, Chiron and Annabeth converged at its centre, the assassin was gone.

If any of the campers had been intending for a peaceful afternoon, their hopes were dashed when the first of Chiron's wind spirit messengers arrived with orders.

Teams of campers marched into the woods in full armour, searching for the assassin and the remainder of the scattered hunters. Their armour shone in the afternoon sun as they combed the forest with grim faces under their helmets. Every one of them had heard of what had happened earlier that day, and they held no illusions about the threat the assassin posed. They walked through the forest with drawn bows and unsheathed swords, ready to defend themselves at the first sign of the black-clad killer.

Ten hunters had been in the camp in the woods, unable to join the beach party due to assorted injuries. All of them were found dead with black arrows shot through their necks. The bodies of five others who had run back from the beach were found a short distance away. The assassin had killed them as they came running in.

Five of the hunters were still missing by the time evening fell. The whole of Camp Half-Blood spent the rest of the night searching for them, until, at dawn, three of the hunters together with Annabeth, Jason and Piper headed to the hunters' tomb.

Where the shrine had been, they found a smoking crater, littered with debris and strewn with the scorched bodies of the missing hunters. The entire shrine had been destroyed.


	13. Chapter 13

**To the boss lost assasin: As you requested, this chapter is much longer than the last one. Cheers!**

* * *

The hunters left the woods that very morning. Chiron and the Athena campers helped them break camp, carrying their tents and wounded to their new site next to the strawberry fields. It was strange seeing the collection of silver tents in the middle of the meadow, but at least they were now out in the open where there would be no chance of the assassin slipping in and out unseen.

Lanesra and Thalia were placed in the Big House, under twenty-four hour surveillance by Argus, head of security. The hunters had been decimated by the recent attack and Chiron feared the two injured lieutenants would be the assassin's next target.

"It was someone in black," Percy, Piper and Annabeth met with Chiron in the Big House to discuss the assassin. "Not that tall."

"How tall exactly?" Chiron asked.

"I couldn't tell," Piper shook her head. "I was too far away."

"Maybe five eight?" Percy guessed. "Um, I'm not very good at judging height, but he was definitely shorter than me."

"He?" Annabeth asked.

Percy shrugged. "I'm assuming the assassin is male."

"The height difference must have been fairly significant for Percy to notice it," Chiron noted.

"Kinda like Nico," Percy said. "We spar a lot, so I know he's about that height."

Then they all looked at each other as the implications sank in.

"He wouldn't…" Piper said tentatively. "Would he?"

"Bianca died shortly after she joined the hunt," Percy swallowed. "I know he still hates them because of that."

"But not enough to kill them, surely?" Jason frowned.

"Well where is he now?" Piper asked.

"I saw him with Thalia on the beach." Annabeth said. "He shadow-travelled away shortly before the attack began."

"That's a big coincidence," Chiron said quietly.

"Well surely he has an alibi," Piper said.

"He keeps to himself most of the time," Jason pointed out. "Usually nobody knows where he is."

"This can't be happening," Percy shook his head. "Nico wouldn't do this. I know he wouldn't."

"Let's not jump to conclusions," Annabeth said. "We'll speak to Thalia when she comes round, ask her what she knows. In the meantime I'll iris-message Nico, ask him to meet us here. Maybe he knows something."

" _What_?" Nico couldn't believe what he was hearing. " _Twenty_ dead?"

"Yes," Annabeth shook her head. "By the time we got there it was already too late. Thalia and Lanesra were wounded trying to stop the assassin."

"Shit," Nico ran a hand through his hair, starting to pace back and forth in front of the iris-message. "Shit, shit, shit."

"We need you back here," Annabeth said.

"What difference is that going to make?"

"Please," Annabeth's voice took on a slightly desperate tone, something Nico rarely heard from her. "We're watching the remaining hunters round the clock. It's all hands on deck."

"All right," Nico kicked a pebble, sending it rattling down the street. "I'll be back in the evening. We can talk over dinner."

"Can't you be back any earlier?" Annabeth asked.

"What difference will a few hours make? I'm busy."

"Please," Annabeth pleaded.

Nico's eyes narrowed. Annabeth _never_ pleaded.

"What's going on?" he snapped.

"What?" Annabeth's reaction was almost perfect, but Nico saw through it.

"I know you're up to something."

"We just want you back." Annabeth held her hands up defensively.

"I don't believe you," Nico growled. "Tell me what's going on."

"I'll tell you when you're here. But you _have_ to come back now."

Nico glared at her with such intensity that it sent a shiver down Annabeth's back. The silence stretched.

"All right," he said at last. "But I'm warning you, I'm not in a good mood."

"Nico," Chiron greeted the son of Hades as he stormed into the Big House. "We were wondering-"

"Later," he snapped. "I need to see Thalia."

"Nico, wait." Piper blocked him at the door.

"What's this?" Nico growled.

"We just want to ask you a few questions." Jason came to stand beside her.

"Get out of my way," Nico said irritably.

Jason took a deep breath. "No."

Nico's eyes widened in surprise. "What?"

"I think we're starting this off on the wrong note," Percy held his hands up for calm.

"If you don't tell me what's going on _right now,_ " Nico took a step forward, radiating an aura so powerful that everyone else took a collective step back.

"We just want to know where you've been," Annabeth said.

"Why is that important right now?"

"It just is," Annabeth insisted.

"Stop beating around the bush." Nico glared at her.

"Where were you?" Piper asked.

"Why are you asking?" Nico snapped.

"Why are you so defensive?" Piper shot back.

"Because you won't tell me what's going on."

"Everyone stop," Percy's voice rose above the others, cutting through the growing argument. "Pointing fingers won't solve anything."

"Pointing fingers?" Nico repeated. He slowly turned in place, locking eyes with everyone in the room. "You think _I_ killed the hunters? That's what this is about?" His stare came to Annabeth. "That's why you wouldn't tell me what's going on. That's why you insisted I come immediately. You think I'm a killer?"

The tension in the room went up several notches.

"Nobody's accusing you of anything." Chiron said.

"No?" Nico's voice was deadly quiet. "Why don't you cut the bullshit."

"Everyone should just sit down." Percy said. "There's no point arguing."

"After all I've done," Nico ignored him, his voice getting steadily louder. "To even _think_ that I could have done this."

"Nobody thinks you did it," Annabeth insisted.

"Yes you do!" Nico shouted. "Otherwise you would have told me what was going on. Otherwise you wouldn't have insisted I come back immediately."

The room fell silent. Nobody knew what to say.

"And to think I call you my friends." Nico said bitterly.

"Nico, I'm sorry." Annabeth almost couldn't bear to look at him. "We're all on edge after what happened, but we shouldn't have jumped to conclusions." She forced herself to meet his gaze.

"What did happen?" Nico's eyes were like black fire, his face twisted with anger.

"We left the wounded hunters in the forest." Everyone turned towards the new voice.

"Thalia," Chiron said. "You're awake."

Unnoticed by anyone, the daughter of Zeus had come into the room, leaning against the doorframe.

"The assassin killed them all. A few of the other hunters were at the shrine. They died too. The rest of the hunters rushed back to the camp as soon as we heard about the attack. The assassin shot them like deer."

Thalia's eyes were full of sorrow, her voice like broken glass. Her face was deathly pale and Nico was shocked by the way she sagged limply against the doorframe, a sharp contrast to how strong she normally looked. Jason and Piper helped her to a chair.

"You shouldn't have gotten up so soon," Jason spoke in a murmur, wary of the tension in the room.

"I was in the next room," Thalia said. "Your shouting woke me up."

"You saw the assassin?" Nico asked.

"An archer." Thalia shook her head slowly, as if even that small action hurt. "She was clad in black. I couldn't even see her eyes. She tried to blast me to bits."

"The assassin was around your height," Jason said uncomfortably. "That's why we…um…" he couldn't meet Nico's gaze.

"You fucking bastards." Thalia spoke softly, but the words bit into them like blades. She turned to Nico. "The last girl?"

"Nothing," Nico growled. "We're back to square one."

"The assassin's a girl?" Percy asked.

"Yes," Nico nodded. "I _was_ trying to find her until you lot decided to become a lynch mob."

"I never believed you'd do this." Percy shook his head.

"Do you have any other leads?" Piper asked Nico.

"Hold up." Nico's eyes widened as the realisation hit him. "You said the assassin killed hunters at the shrine."

"Yeah," Annabeth nodded. "The entire shrine was blown to bits."

"Nico turned to Thalia. "Didn't you say that only _hunters_ could find that shrine?"

It was just past four in the afternoon, prime time for outdoor activities given Camp Half-Blood's perfect weather. Camp Half-Blood was in full swing, campers engaged in every activity available. Nico's scowl deepened as he stepped out of the Hades cabin, taking in the basketball and football games in the commons area. Another peaceful afternoon was about to come to an end.

Lisa lay sprawled on her double bed, fast asleep in her tent in the middle of the hunters' camp. The hunter had a thin line of drool coming from the corner of her mouth as she snored, completely unaware of the commotion unfolding outside.

The tranquility of her afternoon slowly faded, replaced by shouting voices and sounds of movement as the commotion grew. The sounds were beginning to reach her ears, stirring her from sleep. Lisa frowned and turned over in bed.

That was her big mistake. The careless movement jolted her broken arm, sending a sharp stab of pain up her shoulder. A cry of pain escaped her lips. The sleep vanished from her mind in an instant.

"Owww," she moaned, covering her eyes with her good hand. Carefully, she rearranged her broken arm, still throbbing with pain. Her breathing slowed as she settled comfortably back into bed.

An angry shout came from outside, rousing her again. Something knocked into the side of her tent.

"What in the world is going on?" she groaned, heaving herself into a sitting position with her good arm. She got out of bed with an unhappy sigh, crossed to the tent flap and threw it open.

"You've got to be kidding me."

An argument was going on next to the hunters' campfire. She recognised Nico di Angelo, clad in black armour over a layer of padding. The son of Hades was gesturing furiously, yelling at three hunters who were yelling back.

"What does he want this time," Lisa grumbled.

"I'm _telling_ you," Nico shouted. "You _have_ to listen to me!"

A hunter stuck a finger in his face. "Go f-" Lisa yanked the tent flap shut, reaching up to pull the zip down. She grabbed her headphones from her table on the way to the bed, scrolling through her playlist to find something soft and soothing. She fell back onto the bed and closed her eyes.

The tent flap opened, letting in a slant of afternoon sun right in her face. Lisa groaned and lifted an arm, trying to shield her face with her good hand.

"Go away," she groaned, turning over in bed to face away from the light.

That small act of irritation saved her life. An arrow hit the middle of her palm, passing clean through her flesh to tear into her left shoulder. Lisa's eyes snapped open and she howled, pulling her legs to her chest and heaving her body backwards. Two arrows pierced the back of her leg as she rolled over her pillow and off the bed, dropping behind the headrest. The sudden pain together with the lack of one arm made her lose balance halfway and she collapsed in a heap on the floor, screaming as the movement caused the arrows to twist in her wound, sending fresh eruptions of pain through her body.

She caught sight of the attacker as she rolled; a black-clad archer with throwing knives strapped to his body. _Nico di Angelo,_ she thought. The son of Hades had come to kill her.

The assassin, knowing that Lisa was injured and cornered, turned around to zip up the tent flap, darkening the interior of the tent as the light was cut off.

Lisa wriggled onto her back desperately, trying to pull her shorts down her legs with her injured hand. The waistband became stuck halfway down her butt, but she'd created a sufficiently large opening for her to stick her hand inside.

"What in the world are you doing?" the assassin laughed as she caught sight of Lisa struggling with her pants half off.

The wound in her hand sent sharp stabs of pain with each movement, slowing her down and making her fingers stiff. Lisa looked up as she caught movement in the corner of her vision, staring down the length of the assassin's bow.

"No," she gasped. Too late, her fingers closed around the ring and she pulled, sliding a small silver tube out of herself.

"Goodbye, little Lisa," the assassin said, although Lisa couldn't hear her with her headphones on. "Enjoy Elysium."

The tent flap suddenly opened wide, sending a blast of light into the tent's dark interior. The assassin cursed and spun around. Lisa squinted against the glare, seeing the hard outline of armour and a Roman centurion's plume.

Nico's Roman skeleton froze as it's empty eye sockets fell on the assassin. It advanced, making a clattering noise with its teeth as it drew its sword.

The assassin shot it square in the forehead, knocking it's head clean off. The skeleton collapsed to the ground, groping blindly to find its missing appendage. The assassin kicked the skull into a corner, then, deeming the headless skeleton no longer a threat, turned back to the bed just as Lisa pulled her hand out of her pants, clutching the silver tube.

"Seriously?" the assassin said, mistaking the long tube for a toy.

Lisa threw the tube at her. The assassin deflected it easily.

Lisa flicked her hand, unfolding the butterfly knife that had been concealed inside the tube. She threw it at the assassin, but the sharp movement sent a spasm of pain through her hand, making her miss completely. The knife sailed over the assassin's head and tore a hole in the side of the tent.

"Not bad," the assassin laughed. "Looks like you're not such a little girl after all." She drew back her bow. "Bye bye."

A skeletal hand groped the assassin's butt, making her jump. The arrow missed Lisa's head by an inch, tearing a small hole in the wall of the tent. Lisa turned around and stuck her finger into the hole, trying to tear it open, but the magical fabric was strong and didn't budge.

Adrenaline raced through her veins. Lisa's thoughts spun wildly. There was no way she could put up a fight without a weapon. The assassin still struggled with the skeleton, but Lisa knew that a headless skeleton would be no match for the assassin.

In utter desperation she reached down, grabbing at the arrow in her leg. She pulled hard, screaming as the arrow came free in a rush of blood. Fresh pain made her head spin as she rolled around, clutching the arrow tip in her wounded hand. She stabbed the tent wall and ripped down, creating a large diagonal gash smeared with her blood. She tore again, slicing another gash to create a triangle-shaped opening. Lisa sobbed with pain as she started to crawl through the gap.

"NO!" The assassin kicked the skeleton away and drew back her bow, two arrows nocked.

The first one hit her butt, throwing her forward with the force of the impact. The second raked down her back, slicing her shirt in half. Lisa threw herself down as more arrows whizzed above her head, crawling away.

"Help," she croaked. "Someone, please."

Against the odds she staggered to her feet, then the pain overwhelmed her and she fell to her knees.

Somebody appeared round the side of the next tent. Lisa looked up desperately, seeking salvation. Her eyes widened as she saw black armour over the padded vest, weapons strapped to the person's belt. It was Nico di Angelo.

"No," she fell back to the ground, trying to crawl away. "No, no, no."

Nico drew his sword. Lisa froze in fear, unable to tear her gaze from the sight of the black blade. "No," she sobbed.

With a howl of fury Nico leaped over her, slashing her tent wide open with a sweep of his sword. He charged inside. It was empty.

"No!" he roared. He ran out from the other side, but the assassin was long gone. "Damn it!"

He ducked back into the tent and out the torn side. Lisa lay half unconscious in a pool of blood, arrows sticking out of her like a target dummy.

Four hunters appeared from all sides, arriving to investigate the commotion. They saw Lisa slumped on the ground, a bloody mess, Nico di Angelo standing over her with a drawn sword. All four of them jumped to the most obvious conclusion.

"Murderer!" Despite being unarmed, they charged him.

Nico looked up, saw the fury in their eyes, and knew they were beyond reasoning. He would have welcomed a chance to beat some sense into them, but Lisa was losing blood by the minute. He sheathed his sword and bent down to pick her up.

The hunters howled as they saw him touch her. He shadow-travelled away just as they reached him, leaving them to collide into each other in a tangle of limbs.

Nico materialised in the middle of the infirmary, scaring the crap out of three wounded campers and Will Solace. Will's eyes widened as he caught sight of the bloody mess in his arms.

"Water and bandages," Nico barked. "Now!"

Will dropped the ice pack he'd been about to apply to a camper's sprained foot and ran to the cupboard.

"She's a hunter," one of the campers said contemptuously. "Why should we treat her?"

Nico lunged across the room and punched the camper in the face, knocking him out.

"You!" He grabbed the second camper by his collar. "Find Chiron and tell him to meet me at the hunters' camp. You!" He stabbed a finger at the third. "Tell Annabeth Chase and the Athena cabin to assemble at the strawberry fields in full combat gear. Go!"

The terrified campers ran off. Nico turned to Lisa, a sinking feeling starting in his chest as he ran his eyes over her wounds. "Will she live?"

"I don't know." Will sounded stressed. "She's lost a lot of blood."

"Fix her," Nico growled, then walked out through the doorway and almost ran into Jason.

"Whoa!" Jason threw himself backwards.

"With me. Now." Nico strode past him without a glance.

Jason, sensing the urgency in Nico's voice, followed him up the stairs.

"I need you to find Piper, Percy and Annabeth. Tell them to meet at the hunters' camp."

"What's happened?" Jason asked anxiously.

"The assassin struck again. Almost killed another hunter."

"What? When?"

"Five minutes ago, in the hunters' camp. Go find the others."

"I will." Jason nodded, rising into the air. "What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to round them up," Nico said. "And find out which one of them is the killer."

Nico strode into the hunters' camp, flanked by two skeleton butlers carrying baseball bats and lengths of chain. The remaining eleven hunters were assembled around the campfire, surrounded by more skeletons carrying shields and swords.

"Well?" one of the hunters spat as he walked up to them. "Go on and kill us, then."

"I'm not here to kill you," he said irritably, then raised his voice so that all of them could hear him. "There are fifteen of you. Thalia, Lanesra and Lisa are in the infirmary. My skeletons only have eleven of you. I want to know who's missing and where she is."

"Go to Hades," the hunter spat.

Chiron came galloping into the circle of tents, looking shocked.

"Nico, what on earth are you doing?"

"There are fifteen hunters," Nico told him. "Fourteen of them are accounted for. Whoever's missing is the assassin."

"Lies!" a hunter yelled. "You are the murderer!"

Chiron held up his hands for calm.

"Five hunters were found dead at the shrine. No one except a hunter can find and enter the shrine, thus it stands to reason that whoever is responsible is also a hunter."

"We are all sisters," another hunter shouted. "We wouldn't kill each other."

Jason touched down beside Chiron, Piper with him.

"This place looks like a prison yard," Piper shook her head.

"Any luck?" Jason asked.

"No."

"I could try charmspeaking one of them." Piper suggested.

"The assassin knows we're on to her." Jason guessed.

"So if you were her," Piper thought out loud. "What would you do now?"

"Endgame," Nico guessed. "Take down as many hunters as she can."

"But they're all here." Jason pointed out.

The realisation hit all three of them at the same time.

"Thalia." Piper's eyes widened.

"No." Jason lifted into the air.

Nico grabbed him. "You stay here in case the assassin attacks them."

"But Thalia!"

" _I'll_ get her." Nico drew his sword and vanished into his own shadow.

"Gotta pee," Lanesra grunted.

"Careful," Thalia said. "I'll walk you to the door."

"I'm fine,"Lanesra insisted.

"That's what you said the last time." Thalia took her arm. Together they shuffled towards the bathroom.

There was a knock on the door.

"Who is it?" Thalia yelled.

"Jasmine," came the reply.

"Come in," Thalia said. She stood beside the bathroom door, waiting for Lanesra to come out.

The doorknob turned and the door started to open. A long black object was the first thing to appear around the edge of the door. Thalia's blood turned to ice as she realised it was the tip of a bow.

"Aegis!" She slapped her bracelet.

The big shield spiralled out just in time. The door swung fully open, revealing the hunter Jasmine clad in black, two explosive arrows nocked in her bow. "This time I'll finish the job," she growled, then released the shot.

The explosion blew Thalia through the bathroom door, scaring the crap out of Lanesra, who was just pulling her pants up.

"Get down!" Thalia screamed.

Another explosive arrow hit Thalia's shield, throwing her against the bathroom wall. Thalia fell to her knees, dazed.

A water pipe burst, spraying them both with water. Thalia blinked around, trying to get her bearings. Lanesra had collapsed into the bathtub, unconscious and bleeding from a cut on her head. She was out of the line of fire, but as long as Jasmine kept shooting it was only a matter of time before they were both dead.

Thalia's head swam from the repeated impacts. She remained huddled behind her shield, knowing that the moment she tried to move she'd be shot.

"What's the matter, Lieutenant?" Jasmine taunted. "Scared?"

She aimed an incendiary arrow at the wall above Thalia's head, knowing that once she released it Thalia would be engulfed in flames. "Hades will be happy to have your soul." She fired.

WHOOM.

Nico materialised between the bathroom and Jasmine just as she released the shot, resulting in the arrow detonating much closer than she'd expected. A wall of heat slammed into her, throwing her backwards. If not for her flameproof hunter's camouflage she would have been instantly roasted to a crisp.

Nico was sent flying back into the bathroom, his heavy armour absorbing the worst of the impact. He hit the wall and sat down hard on Aegis, then sprang up immediately, sword in hand. With a roar of fury he charged out of the bathroom.

Jasmine sat up and rolled to her feet, blinking white spots out of her eyes. Her vision cleared in time for her to register Nico coming toward her, his sword aimed at her throat.

Jasmine shifted aside and lunged forward, punching her bow into Nico's face. Nico reeled backwards, but managed to grab the edge of her black vest, pulling her with him. He brought the pommel of his sword down on her head, butted her with his head and punched his sword hilt into her face. Jasmine kicked him in the crotch as they broke apart, blinking stars out of her eyes.

Both of them wore heavy armour that took the sting out of the powerful blows. Nico hacked down with his sword, then reversed and parried as Jasmine lunged inside his guard with a silver knife. She parried the return strike with her bow and threw the knife from close range, aiming for the vulnerable gap between the top of Nico's chestplate and his chin.

His stygian iron stab-proof underlayer saved his life. The blade pierced through his reinforced neck guard, hitting his adam's apple square in the centre. Nico choked, gurgling slightly. Jasmine stepped back, nocked an arrow and fired from point blank range.

Nico saw the attack coming and half-managed to shift aside. The arrow glanced off his helmet and embedded itself in the wall behind him.

The two combatants were evenly matched. Nico was the better fighter, but Jasmine had trained under Artemis for a hundred years and there was no gap in her defence. She threw her bow aside and drew out two hunting knives.

Nico lunged and was blocked, saw the answering strike coming and smiled. A small throwing knife left his hand, piercing Jasmine's dark visor as she jerked backwards. Jasmine slashed at his face and stepped back, pulling her visor off and throwing it aside. Nico pulled the silver knife out of his neck and charged her.

The blades clashed and scraped. Nico fought in a whirlwind of slashes and strikes, forcing her backwards. Skilled as she was, his speed was unstoppable and she could not break his attack. Her dark eyes were narrowed to slits as she scrutinised the son of Hades, seeking a way past his flashing blades.

Nico hacked downward with his sword, a powerful blow that would have cleaved a dragon in two. Jasmine threw up her arm to block the attack and the shock ran through her arm as the two weapons connected. His blade scraped down the length of her's to be stopped by the hilt. Nico kicked her in the chest and Jasmine's second knife flashed downward in reflex.

That was her fatal mistake. The silver knife glanced harmlessly off Nico's stygian iron greave. Jasmine fell back, winded by the kick. With both her blades engaged, she had no defence as Nico stamped his foot down, lunging with his knife.

Jasmine twisted aside and half-managed to avoid the blow. The silver knife lanced across her ribs, drawing blood. Her riposte was viciously fast, but in her desperation to counterattack she lost her concentration and repeated her earlier mistake. Her horizontal slash sparked against his chestplate and bounced off. Nico's sword came around, whipping into the side of her head and across her face.

Jasmine stumbled back, half-blinded by the blood and pain. She put up her knives as Nico slashed again, managing to deflect his strike by pure luck.

The silver knife thudded into the centre of her stomach, sending a shiver through the hunter's body. Nico dropped to a crouch and lunged, stabbing her in the leg. Jasmine stumbled and fell.

"It's over." Nico disarmed her with a flick of his sword. With another flick he sliced her arm as she tried to shield herself, opening it to the bone. He put his boot down on her stomach, shifting his weight onto it. Jasmine screamed.

"That was for all the trouble you caused me," Nico growled. He upended his sword and plunged it into her ribs. Jasmine went rigid with agony.

"I can make this quick, or very slow." Nico twisted the sword in the wound. "Who put you up to this?"

Jasmine howled with pain.

"Who told you to destroy the hunt?" he roared.

"No one," Jasmine clawed feebly at the wound. "I've…been wanting to for a long time."

"Why?" Nico demanded.

"Artemis killed my family." Jasmine coughed, pink foam dribbling from the corner of her mouth.

"Why would she do that?"

"They abandoned me," Jasmine shuddered. "But they were still my family."

"Well now you can join them," Nico told her. "In the fields of punishment."

He got up and crossed to the bathroom, helped Thalia up.

"You all right?"

"I'll live." Thalia groaned. Her legs gave out and she collapsed into his arms.

"Falling into my arms?" Nico asked. "That's not appropriate for Artemis's Lieutenant."

"Shut up," Thalia mumbled. "Put me down."

Nico carried her across the room and dropped her onto the couch.

"Owwwww," Thalia moaned. "You jerk."

"Suck it up, tough girl."

The door blasted off it's hinges with a crash. Percy came charging in with a yell, sword in hand, followed by Annabeth. He lowered his sword as his gaze swept round the room, evidently realising that there wasn't a big battle going on.

"Where's the assassin?" he asked, taking a step towards them. He tripped over Jasmine's corpse and flailed for balance, waving his arms madly. Annabeth grabbed him and pulled him back to his feet.

"That answers your question,"

"My goodness," Percy shook his head at the corpse. "Overkill much?"

"No," Nico snapped. "Because I almost died."

Annabeth glanced down at the corpse. "Did you get anything out of her?"

"Artemis murdered her family, she wanted revenge, blah blah blah." Nico pulled his sword out, wiped it on the corpse and shoved it into his sheath.

"Seriously?" Thalia croaked from the couch. "That's it?"

"What a big waste of time." Nico kicked the corpse. "Tell Chiron about this, would you? I'm going back to my cabin. See you at dinner."

There was no funeral nor burial for the hunter Jasmine. Nico's skeletons dragged her corpse into the forest, dumping it close to the Myrmekes' nest.

The Hecate and Hephaestus cabins rebuilt the hunters' shrine, much larger this time to accomodate all the fallen hunters. From the outside it looked like a simple, low building, albeit made completely of silver. The interior was made of pale marble walls and polished silver tiles. Twenty-five stone coffins, neatly arranged in rows of five, took up most of the floor space. There were jars for flowers and cork boards on the walls to pen tributes to the fallen. Timber wolf and hawk sculptures watched from niches in the ceiling, concealed in the shadows. Nico stared up at them as he walked down the centre aisle, smiling grimly as he saw some of their eyes follow his movement. The next intruder who came to defile the shrine would not be able to leave so easily.

The hunters would stay for another week, waiting for Lisa to recover sufficiently enough to travel. Thalia was well on the mend, back on her feet. Her hair had grown out so a layer of black could be seen below the bright pink. Percy suggested getting a buzz cut, Annabeth wanted her to dye the roots pink to match the rest.

That night after the unveiling of the shrine, Nico dreamed.

A frozen landscape stretched out as far as the eye could see. Nico blinked, finding himself knee-deep in snow. His breath steamed in the cold air as he heaved himself up and out.

He wasn't particularly surprised that he'd appeared in a cold climate; it was winter after all. What he wanted to know was where he was and why he'd appeared here.

Nico banged his hands together, trying to fight the cold. Even though he knew he was in a dream, he had no desire to spend it freezing to death in snow. His thoughts moved sluggishly in his brain and he spaced out for a few seconds. He shook his head, trying to think.

He turned in place, trying to get his bearings. In front of him, a range of snowcapped mountains filled his view. On his right was an icy river, frozen solid. To his left was a maze of black tree trunks; a forest stripped bare by winter.

A nature reserve? That didn't narrow it down much. He glanced up and smiled.

High in the sky, the _Aurora Borealis_ glowed, a highway of blue, green and purple, melding into one another as they danced across the sky. Now _that_ was a significant landmark.

Something moved amongst the bare trunks. Nico's head whipped towards the movement.

A woman walked through the forest, slender and pale. Long black hair fell against a silver dress. Nico felt anger rise.

"Artemis!" he shouted.

The woman stopped.

"Where have you been?" Nico demanded, marching through the snow towards her. "Your hunters were decimated, by one of your own. They almost destroyed Camp Half-Blood. Why didn't you stop them? Where did you-"

Artemis turned and Nico recoiled. Her cold, piercing eyes glared like headlights. Her usually soft features were filled with fury and malevolence. Her entire form radiated hostility. Nico's eyes were wide with shock. "You're-"

The dream abruptly faded to black as if someone had yanked the cord out of a television screen. Nico woke with a start, sitting up in bed.

"What was that about?" he murmured.

Something hit the cabin door with a big THUMP.

"Nico!" Percy's voice yelled from outside. "Open up!" BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG.

"Open it," Nico gestured to one of his butlers.

The door was pulled open, revealing Percy gasping on his doorstep, one arm holding the doorframe. Riptide was in his hand, presumably used to pound on his door.

"What's up?" Nico asked.

"Someone's kidnapped Thalia."

* * *

 **Well that's it, the assassin is dead. As always, thanks for the views! I have a question though, do you think I should continue the plot on this current story, or should I write it as a sequel? Tell me what you think.**


	14. Chapter 14

PART THREE:

THE MOON GODDESS

Jordan's dream started off pleasantly, as they normally did. He found himself in a lush flower garden, a sprawling kaleidoscope of nature filled with all kinds of flowers in every colour imaginable. He stood in the centre of a circle of stone tables and benches surrounded by pristine-kept flower beds. His eyes widened as he took in the display, noting how the sections closest to him were arranged like a colour wheel, one colour seeming to blend into another, while the circle of sections beyond those were arranged in complementary colours that matched the first layer, creating a second, counter-clockwise colour wheel that enhanced the first. Still beyond them there were more beds, each containing two different colours of flower that complemented each other, while the beds beyond to them seemed to have no arrangement at all, filled with all kinds of flowers, all of them a different colour from those around it. The flower beds looked less and less uniform with each layer, and whoever was in charge of the garden appeared to have abandoned any attempt at arrangement altogether when constructing the outermost layer.

Then he stopped. No, he realised. He was wrong. His eyes were drawn to the outermost layer of the circular garden, where each flower seemed distinct to all the others around it, no two flowers with similar features next to each other. His gaze swept around the other beds, his earlier disdain at their perceived lack of organization replaced by awe.

The flowers were not arranged at random. Despite having so many different colours, they had been strategically placed to complement those around them, creating a perfect mix of colours that seemed to look even better the more he looked. The effect was mind-blowing.

"I designed this garden myself."

Jordan froze. He'd recognise that voice anywhere, despite not having heard it for over a decade.

He turned. "Mother."

Athena regarded him with a smile. "It's been a long time."

"Too long." Jordan replied, his feelings and expressions automatically withdrawing behind an indifferent mask.

Athena's smile faded slightly, disappointed by his perfect reply. "It's been ten years, Jordan."

"So it has." Jordan nodded, unwilling to open up despite Athena's attempt at reconcilation.

Athena sighed. "Your consciousness does not stray beyond the border often. I had been trying to reach you for three days."

"Has something happened?" Jordan asked curiously.

"Your sister was attacked."

"What?" Jordan's face fell. "When? Where?" His voice took on an urgent tone, showing a hint of the steel within.

"A week ago," Athena told him.

"But that's impossible." Jordan's mind spun wildly, seeking answers he could not find. "She told me she was at Camp Half-Blood with the rest of the hunters."

"She was," Athena nodded. "But one of them went rogue and started to kill the others. Your sister was seriously injured."

"Will she live?" Jordan asked, his voice a whisper.

"Perhaps." Athena shook her head. "Chiron attended to her, but she has lost a lot of blood. You should see her. It could be your last chance."

Jordan ran his hands through his hair, shaking his head in disbelief. His mind was overwhelmed with the sudden information and he could barely think.

"How could this happen?" he said furiously. "Camp Half-Blood is the most secure place in the world!"

"No one knows," Athena shook her head. "Everyone was shocked when they discovered the killer was one of the hunters."

"What about Artemis?" Jordan demanded. "Her precious handmaidens…she should know them inside out."

"Artemis was…not around." For the first time in the conversation, Athena's tone became guarded.

"Why not?" Jordan demanded.

"I cannot speak for her."

"Careless bitch!" Jordan roared. "Her hunters are nothing more than playthings to her. She doesn't care if they live or die."

"I would not voice such thoughts so carelessly if I were you." Athena warned.

"I'm in Alaska," Jordan growled. "There are no Olympians here."

"You will be across the border by dawn tomorrow." Athena reminded him.

"I've never cared for their opinions," Jordan spat. "And I'm not going to, even if I'm across the border."

"It would not be wise to-" Athena's voice faded abruptly as if someone had pressed the mute button.

"You're breaking up," Jordan told her. "I can't hear you."

His vision started to fade, the sea of flowers slowly receeding from view. Jordan guessed that his coinsciousness was drifting back across the border.

"Don't-" Athena said, only for her voice to fade once more.

"We can talk when I'm across the border," Jordan said, then his dream faded to black.

It was three in the morning. A cool breeze stirred the air as Percy and Nico walked across the commons area, the sound of their footsteps unnaturally loud in the silence of the night. The rows of cabins were dark and silent; even the Hermes and Apollo campers' late-night parties had dissolved into slumber by this time. The whole of Camp Half-Blood was asleep.

Not the Big House. Every window in the four-storey farmhouse blazed with light, giving it the impression of a lighthouse in the dark. Nico bounded up the four porch stairs in a single leap and banged on the door.

"There's a doorbell," Percy pointed out.

"I don't use doorbells," Nico told him. "So they'll know it's me."

"Come in." The door swung open, revealing Chiron dressed in pyjamas.

"What happened?" Nico asked.

"Thalia made a taco run," Lanesra, seated in one of the living rooms's large armchairs, answered.

"Alone?" Nico asked.

"Two other hunters went with her," Chiron filled in. "That was at ten."

Nico counted the hours off his fingers. "It's been five hours."

"Tacos don't take five hours." Lanesra said.

"That doesn't mean she was kidnapped." Nico said. But the cold, sinking feeling in his gut told him otherwise. This was no ordinary delay. Something sinister was at work.

"Thalia takes detours all the time. But we're unable to contact her," Lanesra said. "Otherwise we wouldn't have been worried."

"Did she say which taco place she was going to?" Nico asked.

"She did," Lanesra nodded.

"Jason and Piper arrived at the store five minutes ago," Chiron said. "The guys at the store said that three girls in silver jackets came in at around eleven. They left after getting their takeaways."

"And giving the counter guy a knee to the balls, if I know them." Nico said.

Chiron looked surprised. "Piper did notice that the counter guy looked like he was in some kind of discomfort. How did you guess?"

"Because Thalia's really hot," Nico said. "And he asked for her number. Where is Jason now?"

"Still at the store. He's unsure where to go next."

"Tell him to order five tacos." Nico told Chiron.

"What for?" Lanesra asked.

"You'll eat the tacos," Nico explained. "And see if it makes you disappear too. Knowing Thalia, she ate one immediately and packed two to go."

Annabeth came through the door, dressed for travel with a drawstring bag and jacket.

"Blackjack and Guido are here," she told Percy. "Let's go."

"Where to?" Percy asked.

"Head to the city," Nico told them. "You're familiar with the area. I'll head to the taco store."

"Jason's already there," Chiron reminded him.

"And that's why he won't find anything. His aura is like a bonfire. Every monster within a hundred miles senses him coming." Nico scoffed. He eyed Lanesra, estimating that she was a couple of inches taller than he was. Good enough. Lanesra's silver Parka was folded on the armrest of her chair. He snatched it up.

"Put that down," Lanesra snapped. "What d'you think you're doing?"

"I'll dress like a hunter," Nico pulled the coat on. "Eat like a hunter, and see who comes asking for my number."

"You're joking," Percy said, incredulous.

"I've cosplayed before," Nico waved a hand at him. "Give me your perfume," he told Lanesra.

The Second Lieutenant looked furious. "Give me back my coat."

"Oh, it's in here." Nico put a hand into one of the coat pockets and came out with a small bottle of Chanel. The other pocket yielded her deodorant and a pack of bubblegum.

"Perfect." Nico popped two pieces of gum into his mouth, pulled the caps off the aerosol cans and let loose with two long blasts.

"Ugh," Percy backed away, holding his nose. "Too much."

"Exactly," Nico put the bottles back into his pocket. "I'm just like a hunter." He snapped his fingers and collapsed into his shadow just as Lanesra lunged for him. The hunter stumbled through the space he'd just been and ended up running into Percy's arms. Both of them jumped apart like startled cats.

"That little boy," Lanesra snarled.

"There's no arguing with Nico." Percy shrugged. "At least you'll have tacos when he returns your jacket."

"Mm," Nico wiped salsa off his chin with the sleeve of Lanesra's jacket, suppressing a grin as he pictured the hunter's enraged expression. "This is actually pretty good." He took another big bite, pondering his next move as he chewed. "So what did the girls do while they waited? Just stand around?"

"Yeah," the counter guy was a tall, dark dude with close-cropped hair. Probably the one that had asked for Thalia's number. "One of them went to the bathroom."

"That's where I wanna go." Nico headed into the little cubicle and bolted the door shut. He glanced at the toiletbowl, then at the small dustbin under the washbasin.

"Bin," he decided.

He bent and grabbed the dustbin, then upended it, spilling the contents onto the floor. It was mostly used tissue and crumpled receipts. He probed the mess with his boot, smiling when he spotted a thick wad of Kleenex stained dull red. A bloodstain, several hours old. He picked it up, feeling it's distinctive ultrasoft material. There was no mistaking it; Camp Half-Blood's special-issue five-ply toilet paper. He kicked his feet free of the other tissues, absently pocketing the bloodstained wad of Kleenex. He wondered what Lanesra would think when she found it. Cheered by the thought, he left the bathroom, ignoring the counter guy's wide-eyed stare at his back.

"Where to next?" he murmured. He surveyed the small row of shops, his eyes coming to rest on the last lot, the only other store open apart from the tacos.

A convenience store. Nico nodded to himself, satisfied. It made sense. Lacking sanitary pads, one of the hunters had used Camp Half-Blood toilet paper, then walked across to buy pads after they'd gotten the tacos. It was probably Thalia; Nico had guessed she was on her period from the way she'd been being unusually feisty the day before.

He bought a pack of sanitary pads from the convenience store, along with a pack of aspirin, Paracetamol, a newspaper and a big bottle of brandy.

"You wouldn't happen to know if three girls in silver jackets came in here earlier on, would you?" he asked the cashier.

"Sure did," the cashier nodded. "Bought pads, just like you did. Why? You with them?"

Nico nodded. "We're a scouts group. From New York."

So he was right. Thalia had been here. But where was she now?

"Did they mention where they were going next?"

"Nope." The cashier shook her head. "Just came and left. Gone with the wind."

"I see." Nico was slightly disappointed. "We're on a camping trip. They're supposed to be back at the camp in an hour's time." he explained. "Hope they don't stay out too late."

Freezing winter air blasted him in the face as he stepped out of the store. He pulled up the parka hood and leaned into the wind, walking off into the night.

He hadn't really expected anyone in the shops to know where Thalia had been headed, although the information would have helped. It didn't matter. He had better ways of tracking her down.

Nico crossed the small road, walking along it for a few seconds before he finally found a suitable patch of dirt.

"This will do." he said, satisfied. He popped an aspirin and a paracetamol into his mouth and started to chew, screwing up his face at the bitter taste. An idea occurred to him and he added three pieces of Lanesra's fluorescent green bubblegum to his mouth. He chewed the gum and medicine into a bittersweet, green ball, and as he chewed he pulled off his backpack, reached in and pulled out a big pointy tooth as long as his forearm. He stabbed it into the dirt, spit the gum onto it then emptied the whole bottle of brandy onto the tooth.

"Rise."

The soil started to bubble. Nico stepped back, tossing the brandy bottle onto the grass as a skeleton erupted from the ground, clawing its way to the surface. It took on flesh as if someone was pouring gelatin onto it's bones, but unlike the grey skin skeleton warriors normally had, this one was bright luminous green, the exact same colour as Lanesra's bubblegum. Nico grinned.

The skeleton turned to face him, its skull seeming to grin back under the translucent green flesh. Nico reached into his pocket and pulled out Thalia's bloodstained tissue. He handed it to the skeleton. The skeleton sniffed it and made a dry, clattering noise with its teeth.

"Here is your weapon." Nico handed him the rolled-up newspaper.

The skeleton saluted with the newspaper roll, then sprinted off into the night.

No amount of magic could hide a person's trail from a Spartus. The skeleton would stop at nothing until it found Thalia, upon which it would attempt to bludgeon her to death with the roll of newspaper. Once that happened Nico would shadow-travel in to save the day.

"Perfect," Nico dusted his hands off. "Now all we have to do is wait." He decided to get himself another taco.

Percy and Annabeth searched New York City for the rest of the night until dawn, but there was no sign of Thalia and the hunters. The satyrs at Camp Half-Blood could find nothing with their tracking songs. The trail, if there had been one in the first place, was gone.

"Someone must be shielding her location," Annabeth sighed.

"We'll just have to keep looking." Jason said determinedly. He and Piper had arrived in New York at dawn to help Percy and Annabeth search.

"We should split up," Percy suggested. "Cover more ground."

"Good idea," Piper nodded.

"You're most familiar with the city," Annabeth told Percy. "You carry on here. I'll go west towards Ohio. Piper, you go south towards Washington. Jason, you head north to Boston and Maine."

"Where will I go if I don't find her in the city?" Percy asked.

Annabeth thought for a moment. "Go west, but via Charlston. Cover the ground. We're bound to find something."

The four demigods nodded assent. Percy signalled Blackjack with a flick of his hand.

"We'll find her," he promised Jason.

"I know," Jason nodded. He lifted into the air.

"Stay safe, Seaweed Brain." Annabeth wheeled Guido away, then turned back. "Forgot something." She bent down to give him a kiss.

 _PDA!_ Guido whinnied.

"Just close your eyes," Percy laughed as he pulled away. "You don't have to look."

 _Human saliva,_ Blackjack snorted as he touched down. _Disgusting._

"Like yours is any better," Percy shot back.

 _Of course it is!_

"Yeah right."

"The hunters did _what_?" Nico said in disbelief.

"They left," Chiron's voice came through the iris-message heavy with frustration. "In the middle of the night. Nobody knew they were gone until someone realised in the morning that their tents were missing from the meadow."

"Where are they headed?" Nico asked.

"If I knew, I would tell you." Chiron said.

"Bollocks," Nico felt like strangling every single one of them out of frustration. "Stupid girls."

"Lisa is still in the infirmary." Chiron told him. "She might know about their plans."

"If she'll tell us," Nico muttered.

 _Well here it is, the next chapter! Decided to continue on the same story. I want to hit the 40,000 word mark. As always, thanks for the views!_


	15. Chapter 15

The satyr yelled as he spiked the ball, delivering a powerful shot that would have broken the volleyball net in two if it had made contact. The ball missed the top of the net by an inch, connecting instead with a surprised camper's forehead. The camper gasped and stumbled backwards. The ball sailed out of play.

"Sorry," the satyr called. "You all right?"

"Fine," the girl waved a hand at him, rubbing her forehead with the other.

The incident dismissed, the players turned their attention to retrieving the ball.

They found it in the hands of a tall, dark-haired man standing to the side of the sandpit. His blue hooded jacket and tall boots indicated that he wasn't familiar with Camp Half-Blood's warm weather, which meant that this man was not a camper. They might have mistaken him for a lost mortal who'd accidentally wandered in, but his stormy grey eyes were sharp and focused, suggesting that he'd arrived here on purpose.

"Hello," the girl smiled at him, a little uncertainly. "New camper?"

The man was obviously too old to be a new camper, but she had no idea how else to approach him. Something about him gave her a vague sense of unease, like a thunderstorm about to erupt. Behind her, one of the satyrs turned pale.

"I'm looking for the hunters of Artemis." Jordan told her.

"You're about half a day too late," she replied. "They just left last night."

"What?" Jordan had not been expecting this. "Where? Why?"

"Beats me," the girl shrugged. "No one knows. Not even Chiron."

Jordan felt his train of thought come to a screeching halt. The hunters, he knew, were capable of travelling large distances in a short amount of time. Twelve hours could put them anywhere between Florida and the Canadian border, and that was assuming they hadn't gone inland towards the Midwest. If Chiron didn't know where they were, he had more hope of winning the lottery than tracking them down.

"Damn bloody girls." he grumbled. He tossed the volleyball to the campers and marched back towards Half-Blood Hill, muttering angrily to himself.

"Who was _that_?" the camper wondered out loud, palming the ball in her hands.

"That was Jordan van Staal," one of the older satyrs replied. "He…used to be a camper here."

"Used to?" another camper asked.

The satyr shifted uncomfortably. "We don't like to talk about it."

Jordan stormed down the hill, sweating in his heavy winter jacket.

"Three thousand miles all for nothing," he muttered.

He fell silent as he continued down the road, anger fading as his mind began to plan.

He had not given up on finding the hunters. If nobody knew where they were, then he'd have to track them down. Being hunters, they were notoriously difficult to locate, but while he didn't know how to locate them, he knew someone who did.

He pulled out his phone and punched in a number. After six rings the other side picked up.

"Alabaster, it's Jordan van Staal. I need your help."

"So who is she?" Alabaster Torrington asked, staring at a picture of Lisa van Staal from Jordan's wallet.

"My sister."

" _That_ is your sister?" Alabaster frowned. "You're what, twenty-five?" Lisa didn't look older than thirteen.

"Thirty." Jordan replied irritably, as he always was whenever people commented on the age difference between him and his sister. "She joined the hunters," he explained. "Ten years ago."

"You look young for thirty." Alabaster gave him a glance, looked back to the picture. "Runs in the family."

"Just find her," Jordan told him.

"Alright, fine." The son of Hecate took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "This may take some time."

"I'll wait." Jordan, leaning against the closed door of Alabaster's RV, folded his arms. After a minute, Alabaster's eyes popped open.

"That was fast."

"Yeah," Alabaster muttered. "Easier than expected. Her location wasn't shielded like I thought."

"That's unusual." Jordan was surprised. "The hunters always mask their location. Where is she?"

"Camp Half-Blood."

Jordan shook his head. "That can't be right. I just came from Camp Half-Blood. The hunters left that place last night."

"Well she's still there."

"Impossible."

"Did you actually search the camp?" Alabaster asked.

"No," Jordan admitted. "I asked a camper."

"When have campers been reliable sources of information?" Alabaster snorted. "Looks like its back to camp for you."

"It doesn't make sense," Jordan frowned. "The hunters are either there or they aren't. A camper wouldn't lie about something so obvious."

"Maybe they left her behind," Alabaster suggested.

"Why would they do that?"

Alabaster snapped his fingers. "Didn't you say she was injured? Maybe they left her behind because she was unfit to travel."

Jordan's head snapped up. "You're right. Ugh, why didn't I think of that?"

"You're getting old." Alabaster told him.

"Old enough to stick your head through this window," Jordan shot back. He opened the RV door. "Thanks for the help. I'll see you soon." He marched out.

"Not likely." Alabaster muttered.

"I'm looking for a hunter," Jordan said.

"Bad news, mate," the camper replied. "They left last night."

"There's one left," Jordan told him. "And I want her."

"So do we all, if we could have them," the camper grinned. "But I'm telling you, they're all gone."

Jordan rolled his eyes, realising he'd phrased his question the wrong way. He changed tack.

"Where do you keep all the injured people?"

"Oh, the infirmary?" the camper pointed to the Big House. "You want the Big House. Level one."

"Thank you." Jordan marched off.

Nobody answered the doorbell, so Jordan turned the knob and let himself in.

Will Solace jumped up as he heard the infirmary door open, having dozed off in one of the beds. His eyes widened as a tall man in a heavy jacket came through the doorway, the sound of his boots loud on the infirmary's wooden floor.

"C-can I help you?" Will stammered, his brain still half-asleep.

"I'm looking for a hunter." Jordan told him.

Will froze. He'd been warned by Chiron to keep Lisa's location a secret, given the recent string of attacks on the hunt. Foggy with sleep and startled by the sudden intrusion, he mistook Jordan for an assassin.

"There are no hunters here. They all left last night."

Jordan stepped forward and grabbed him by the shirt, slamming him against the wall.

"I know she's here." Already irate from having to venture out of Alaska into Olympian territory, coupled with the annoyance of searching back and forth for his sister, his temper had just about reached the limit.

"If you don't tell me where she is _right now-_ "

Will's eyes widened a fraction, his pupils shifting minutely to focus on something behind him. Jordan ducked, showing lightning-quick reflexes, and the big porcelain vase that was meant for the back of his head struck Will's forehead instead. Will collapsed, eyes rolling back into his skull.

Jordan lashed out with a savage back kick, catching the attacker square in the stomach. The power of the blow sent the unseen assailant flying backwards, landing fortuitously onto one of the infirmary beds. She sprang to her feet, using the bed's soft surface as a gymnastics mat. Jordan spun around just as the girl leaped off the bed towards him like a flying fox. His eyes widened.

"WAIT!" he yelled, but it was much too late. The girl slammed into him, sending both of them crashing to the floor in a tangle of limbs. She got on top and pressed her forearm against his throat.

"You wanna kill me?" she growled.

Jordan started to shake. At first it seemed like he was having a fit, but where his face should have shown panic he had a big, rare smile. He started to laugh.

"Let me up, Lisa. You feel like a bloody elephant."

Lisa's eyes widened as she recognised the man pinned beneath her. "Jordan!" she squealed, wrapping him in a tight hug.

"No," Jordan groaned. "Can't…breathe."

Lisa was too consumed with happiness to register what he was saying and continued to squeeze the life out of him.

Jordan braced himself against the floor and pushed, flipping the two of them over like a turtle. He managed to get to his knees, Lisa still clinging to him like an overexcited koala bear. Freed from her weight at last, he gave a big whoosh of relief, taking in a giant gasp of air.

"It's been sooo long since I last saw you!" Lisa said excitedly. "Where've you been? When did you get here? You should have told me you were coming!" She let go of him at last, falling onto the floor with a thump. "Ow," she muttered. "Why'd you let me fall, you jerk!" she slapped his arm as he straightened.

Jordan laughed. His sister was still the same ball of energy he remembered. Seeing her, he felt for a moment like they were kids again, chasing each other around the rickety table in the tiny flat back home.

A slow burn started in his chest, like an ember slowly being heated until it was red-hot and glowing. He pushed the memory away before it could rise fully. It was too painful.

"You should pay more attention to your surroundings," he told her. "And I did tell you to let me go. You almost squeezed me to death."

He stood and offered her a hand up.

"I pinned you," she beamed proudly.

"Only because I realised it was you," Jordan countered. "If I hadn't, you would have already been dead."

"Bull," Lisa scoffed. "I had you."

"You wish." Jordan bumped her with his shoulder, sending her stumbling. She bumped him back, much harder, but only managed to make him waver slightly.

"So why'd you come?" Lisa asked, curious.

"Athena called me. She said you had been attacked and almost died."

Lisa nodded. A sad look came over her face. "I was lucky to survive. Jasmine killed twenty-five others."

"Twenty-five?" Jordan thought he must have misheard. "How could that happen?"

"She did lots of things." Lisa's voice became slightly muffled. "Summoned a hellhound. Shot them while they were injured. Blew up the shrine." The memories overcame her and she began to cry into Jordan's shoulder.

"There were so many of them," Lisa sobbed, as Jordan pulled her into another hug. "So many. Then she tried to kill me and…" Lisa

"It's over now," Jordan said, stroking her hair softly. "She's gone. She cannot hurt you any more."

"I know," Lisa shuddered and sniffled.

The sound of rapid footsteps reached their ears; somebody was coming down the hallway in a hurry. Jordan's senses pricked.

"Lisa?" The voice was reassuringly familiar.

"Infirmary," Lisa called.

"Chiron," Jordan recognised the voice.

The tall centaur appeared in the doorway, ducking his head to fit through the opening, then caught sight of Jordan.

"Jordan," he suddenly looked uneasy. "You're…back."

"I came to see my sister," Jordan nodded to Lisa.

"Lisa is your sister?" Chiron was surprised. He looked to Lisa, saw the tears on her face.

"Are you all right, my dear?"

"Yeah," Lisa nodded, wiping tears away. "I'm fine."

"Your fellow hunters have just left Camp. You wouldn't happen to know where they were headed, do you?"

Lisa nodded. "They went to find Thalia and the others."

"Do they know where she is?" Chiron asked.

"They split into three groups to cover more ground. They're headed north, west and south."

"WHAT?" Nico bellowed. " _They split up_?"

"It's not surprising," Percy shrugged. "We're doing that too."

"If someone's capturing hunters," Nico growled. "Don't send _hunters_ to try and find them! They might as well be offering themselves up. Stupid girls."

"Right now our main priority is to find them, fast." Annabeth decided.

"The group that went south is only a couple of miles from me," Piper said. "I'm gonna try intercepting them."

"You do that," Annabeth said. "I'll see if I can catch the westbound group. Nico-"

"I'm not budging until my tracker finds Thalia." Nico folded his arms. " _That's_ my main priority."

"Nico, their lives are in danger."

"And I've saved them twice over already. I'm sick of their stupidity. Ask Jason to go after the north group."

"Fine." Annabeth knew that there was no arguing with him. "Jason?"

"I'll find them." Jason nodded.

"The more time we spend talking, the further they get." Piper said. "I'll get in contact when I find the girls." she swiped her hand over the iris-message, dissolving it.

Piper's iris-message came in half an hour later. Nico, who had been taking a nap in his cabin, frowned as the shimmering rainbow woke him up.

"That was fast," he mumbled blearily. He blinked the sleep out of his eyes, yawning, then froze as his vision came into focus.

"Oh, no."

The iris-message showed the remains of a battle. Silver arrows and knives littered the ground around three tattered tents. There was blood on the ground, along with a sizable amount of monster dust.

"I just got here," Piper told him.

"Can you tell what took them?" Nico stared hard at the live image, but the piles of monster dust looked fairly nondescript.

"What makes you think they weren't killed?" Piper asked.

"Not enough blood." Nico said bluntly. "Also, there are no bodies."

"True," Piper noted. She sighed. "I'll see if I can pick up their trail."

"I'll ask the satyrs to do another tracking song," Nico told her.

"Thanks," Piper already looked tired from searching the whole night before, and she faced at least another half a day of travel, or more if the trail didn't go cold like it had before. "I'll catch up with you if I find anything else."

"Sure." Nico waved his hand over the iris-message, dissolving it, and went back to sleep.

"What?"

"I'm sorry, Lisa." Chiron said sadly. "Annabeth found the third group's campsite about half an hour ago. Whatever attacked the hunters was long gone."

"No!" Lisa couldn't believe her ears. She looked like she was about to cry.

Chiron's heart ached for the young hunter. No matter how much tragedy he saw, he could never dull the pain like other warriors did. Every loss hit him hard. He had always found the strength to move on, eventually, but that didn't make it any better.

Standing beside his sister, Jordan felt a surge of anguish. He hated monsters above all others, and the news of the hunters' recent decimation was making the blood roar in his ears despite his dislike for Artemis and her followers. A single thought rose above the haze of anger.

"You said they were captured, not killed."

Chiron nodded. "Annabeth and the others are all but certain. None of their bodies were found."

"Then we find them," Jordan pounded his fist into his palm. "And kill whoever took them."

"The satyrs' tracking songs aren't working," Chiron shook his head. "They can't locate them."

Jordan cracked his neck. "I know someone who can."

"Nice to meet you," Alabaster shook Lisa's hand. "I didn't know Jordan even had a sister until today." Alabaster's smile was wider than normal, his handshake a little longer than necessary. Jordan's eyes widened.

"Right then," Alabaster turned away from Lisa at last, clasping his hands together. "Sit down. Have some tea. This'll take some time."

"That's what you said the last time." Jordan reminded him.

"Last time we weren't looking for captured hunters." Alabaster explained. "This time they will probably be concealed with strong magic, unless whoever took them is a complete idiot, which can't be, because they manage to take down the entire hunt."

"In small groups," Jordan pointed out. "It's like cutting up a beef for a baby."

"Beef?" Alabaster frowned.

"Steak," Lisa corrected.

"Same thing."

"Your little sister speaks better English than you do." Alabaster noted. "Haven't you been living in America for the past fifteen years?"

"Yes," Jordan growled. "But I was too busy fighting monsters to learn English."

"You should've stayed at Camp." Lisa told him. "Much safer there."

"And become a wall painting?" Jordan scoffed. "Like everyone else?"

"Wall painting?" Alabaster asked.

"It's an American saying." Jordan waved a hand dismissively. "You Americans are always making funny terms."

"Wall flower." Lisa corrected. "But that's not the correct term either."

"Whatever." Jordan threw up his hands. "Americans and their English. Why can't they speak something simple?"

"Like Dutch?" Alabaster said dryly.

"Yes," Jordan snorted.

"English and Dutch," Lisa said. "Will not help us find my missing sisters."

"Sorry. Got distracted." Alabaster straightened. He rubbed his hands together. "Let's find the missing hunters."

"There's one group here," Alabaster clicked his mouse, marking the spot on the map with a red dot. "And another here." He clicked again. "But most of them are here." He moused over a third location.

"That's in Alaska," Lisa frowned.

"The other two groups are also near the border," Jordan noted.

"Whoever captured them must be taking them across," Alabaster guessed.

"But who would want to capture hunters and bring them to Alaska?" Lisa wondered. "And why?"

"Time to find out." Jordan grabbed his backpack off the floor. "Want to come?" he asked Alabaster.

"Sure," Alabaster agreed. "Been a long time since I had any action. Besides, I want to see who's making such a ruckus."

"I'll call you when I get back." Jordan told Lisa.

"No way." Lisa got up from her seat. "I'm coming with you."

Jordan shook his head. "Too dangerous."

"They're my sisters," Lisa insisted.

"They've captured fourteen hunters already." Jordan said. "Do you really think one more is going to make a difference?"

"Jordan, I'm not thirteen anymore." Lisa said angrily. "Stop telling me what to do."

"I'm trying to keep you safe," Jordan told her.

"Stop treating me like a little kid." Lisa snapped.

"You'll die if you go," Jordan put out his arm, blocking the doorway of the RV.

"You can't stop me." Lisa glared at him.

"I can and I will." Jordan's hand drifted towards his pocket.

Alabaster came between them before things could get violent.

"Let's remember that we're all on the same side here," he put a hand on Jordan's shoulder, the other on Lisa's.

"Don't touch me." Lisa snapped, slapping his hand away.

"All right, all right." Alabaster held up his hands placatingly. "But if we leave her here," Alabaster turned to Jordan. "What's to stop the enemy from capturing her as well? They're probably looking for her."

"You think she'll be safe in Alaska?" Jordan retorted.

"I think she'll be safe with us." Alabaster reasoned.

Jordan scowled so hard that his face turned dark. Lisa glared at him, unwilling to back down.

"Fine," Jordan said at last. "But you remember," he told Lisa. "That _I'm_ in charge." He marched off without waiting for her reply, fishing in his pocket for his electronic plipper.

"What a guy." Alabaster shook his head. "He should change his name to Jordan van Scowl."

Lisa laughed at his remark, her anger dissipated by Alabaster's dry humour. "Maybe he should."

"Did you drive here?" Alabaster asked, looking out at the street. "I don't see a car."

"I flew." Jordan replied. He stood at the empty kerbside, his plipper blinking in his hand.

"Yeah right." Alabaster laughed. His smile faded as a large object suddenly flickered into existance right above him.

"You're kidding." he gaped up at the large aircraft.

"I told you I built a plane, didn't I."

"I thought you were joking!" Alabaster watched the aircraft touch down in the middle of the road, holding his head in his hands. "Holy shit."

"Better than your RV?" Lisa was amused by his stupefied expression.

Jordan's aircraft was double the size of a private jet, but where a plane had wings and fins the body of this aircraft was completely bare like a space rocket, floating in the air like a metallic grey cigar. Four downward thrusters stuck out of the sides like a drone, the only indication of how something so big could fly without wings.

"Welcome aboard the _Javelin_ ," Jordan grinned. "My name is Jordan van Staal and I'm your pilot to Alaska."

Alabaster struggled for something to say. "This doesn't look like an ordinary plane." he finally managed.

"It isn't," Jordan laughed.

Bay doors on the underside of the aircraft opened and a section of the underbelly lowered, creating a platform that lifted them up into the aircraft's interior. The platform continued to rise even after they were all the way inside and Alabaster realised that it functioned as an elevator as well as a means of entrance.

"Celestial bronze quad-core engine." Jordan pointed to a heavy door in the side of the elevator shaft that had a radioactive sign stamped into it. "Both Lemnos and Greek fire for fuel."

"Why so many cores?" Alabaster asked.

"Completely infallible." Jordan boasted. "One engine is enough to power the whole ship. The rest are there to provide back-up and turbo boost.

"How fast can this thing go?" Alabaster asked.

"The _Javelin_ has a top speed of Mach ten. Seven thrusters," Jordan rattled off the statistics like he was giving a presentation. "Four for vertical landing and takeoff, of which two can provide thrust. Three more for main thrust."

"Holy shit," Alabaster muttered. "You could punch a hole through Olympus with that kind of speed."

"That was the idea."

"The impact would crush this thing like a tin can." Lisa pointed out.

"Not if I had celestial bronze armour." Jordan rapped the side of the hull. "Zeus himself couldn't break a hole in this thing."

The platform rose above the engine door, coming up to a second level. "Here's where we have coffee."

"I think you've misunderstood what it means to have coffee." Alabaster told him.

They had come up to a small room that seemed to be full of tables. All four walls had built-in tables running along them like bar counters with touch screens built into the walls in front of them. The centre of the room was dominated by a large rectangular table. The space between the two tables was just enough for a person to pass through abreast, although the narrow passageway was further congested by two chairs on either of the table's four sides. Every inch of table space was cluttered with mechanical equipment and half-assembled machinery.

"No, I'm serious." Jordan pointed to the corner of the room where a coffee grinder and espresso machine sat amidst a mess of empty coffee cartridges and spilled sugar.

"Your ship is _such_ a mess," Lisa tutted.

"This way to the cockpit." Jordan went through a doorway to their left. Alabaster and Lisa followed him into a small, triangular space at the front of the _Javelin._

There were banks of screens arranged in an inverted U shape around three chairs. In front and above the screens were wraparound windows that gave a panoramic view of the clear sky outside.

Jordan walked back into the coffee room, jumping onto the table and striding across a ridiculously narrow strip of space in the centre of the table that was miraculously clear of the mess all around it.

"Did you leave that part clean just so you could walk on it?" Alabaster asked.

"Yes," Jordan said. "How did you know?"

"Because it's something only you would do." Alabaster shook his head and jumped up onto the table after him.

"Boys," Lisa snorted. "So messy." She opted to go around the table instead, dodging around the swivel chairs.

"And here is where you'll be living." Jordan threw open the door at the other end of the room with a flourish.

This last room was much nicer than the coffee room, although it wasn't any less messy. On the right of the doorway was an arsenal of steel cabinets. On the left of the doorway was the bathroom, which took up most of the front half of the room. An L-shaped couch leaned against the corner made by the bathroom wall and the cabin's left wall, flanked by small square tables on which Jordan had evidently decided to pile his laundry. In front of the couch was the inevitable coffee table which for some reason had a football, shinpads studded boots and a few cones strewn over it. The right wall facing the couch was completely blank, while across the room, to the rear of the aircraft, were two messy bunk beds and a big, restaurant-size refrigerator.

"You mean the living room." Alabaster said.

"That's what I said."

"No, you said 'Here's where we'll be living'." Lisa quoted.

"Same thing." Jordan shrugged.

Alabaster and Lisa shared a look.

"Forget it." Alabaster said.

"You'll have the couch." Jordan told him. "It's also a pull-out bed, if you like. Lisa will take the spare bed."

"Right." Alabaster dropped his backpack onto the side of the couch and sat down. "Will I also have the coffee table?"

"Of course." Jordan cleared the coffee table with a sweep of his left boot, pushing all the football equipment onto a pile on the floor.

Lisa crossed to the lower bunk, frowning at the crumpled sheets, then climbed the ladder to the upper bunk, which was equally messy.

"Do you sleep in both of these?"

"Obviously." Jordan replied.

"Of course he does," Alabaster snorted.

"Why?" Lisa asked.

"Sometimes I'm too lazy to climb to the top."

"Then why don't you use the bottom bunk all the time?" Lisa couldn't believe him.

"I like the top."

"I'm not sleeping in your sheets." Lisa picked a corner of the duvet with two fingers and dragged it onto the floor. "Get me some new ones."

"It's over there." Jordan pointed to the mountain of laundry on the left-side square table as he walked past it on the way out the door. "I'm going to plot our course. I think we can catch the last group before they cross the border."

"I need the bathroom." Lisa headed to little cabin.

"Close the lid before you flush!" Jordan yelled at her through the door. "Otherwise you'll be sucked out of the ship."

"You have a sewage tank in this ship?" Alabaster asked, curious.

"Of course not," Jordan looked baffled. "It goes out of the plane. Straight down."

"Ah." Alabaster nodded in understanding.

A loud howling noise like a tornado came from the bathroom and Lisa yelped in fright.

"I told you to close the lid!" Jordan pounded on the bathroom door.

"Sorry," Lisa squeaked.

"Why don't you ever listen?" Jordan left for the cockpit.

Alabaster chuckled, then he realised that the ship was still floating above his house, which meant that Lisa had just flushed the contents of the toilet down onto his roof. He jumped up and headed after Jordan.

"Hey!"


	16. Chapter 16

"We've arrived." Jordan's voice boomed throughout the three rooms despite him being in the cockpit; evidence that he had an intercom system installed on the ship. Alabaster jumped, his handful of magic cards falling out of his hand. He sat up on the couch. "It's only been ten minutes."

"I told you, this ship flies Mach ten." The reply came through the intercom.

"How can you hear me from all the way there?" Alabaster asked out loud.

"Did you think I would install speakers without installing microphones as well?" Jordan seemed to be enjoying using the intercom. "Go to the coffee room."

"You mean come, not go." Lisa said as she walked past the couch.

Alabaster followed her into the coffee room, where Jordan was putting away all the tools and machinery on the big central table.

"So, this is the enemy." He tapped the table and the black surface suddenly filled with the image of a snowy plain.

"Touch screen," Alabaster said. "Impressive."

In the middle of the plain was a large pack of wolves galloping north. Lisa touched the table with her index fingers and moved her arms apart, enlarging the live image. "Lycaon."

" _That_ guy?" Alabaster stared at the pack of shaggy grey wolves. "Oh, brother."

"The hunters carry silver weapons," Jordan frowned in thought. "So how were the wolves able to capture them?"

"They must've overrun them." Alabaster said. "Look at the size of that pack." There looked to be about forty wolves, six of them pulling a sled piled with three girls in battered silver parkas. The hunters.

"Let's get them." Jordan said confidently.

"How?" Lisa, who'd sounded eager for a fight before, looked apprehensive. "There's only three of us."

"We have him." Jordan jerked a thumb at Alabaster.

Lisa gave Alabaster a glance. Alabaster pounded his fist into his palm.

"Okay," Lisa didn't sound convinced. "What's the plan?"

"Alabaster destroys them," Jordan said. "And then we pull the hunters up."

"Easy-peasy." Alabaster made ok signs with his hands.

"Seriously?" Lisa said, exasperated.

"What?" Jordan asked. "I was being serious."

Whatever Lisa was about to say was cut off by a loud wailing alarm. All three of them looked up from the screen.

"Impossible." Jordan ran for the cockpit.

The ship lurched, sending all three of them staggering, then tilted ninety degrees sideways. Jordan clung to the doorframe. Alabaster and Lisa fell against the wall.

"Ow," Lisa groaned. Her side had hit the edge of the wall's built-in table. Alabaster gave her a hand up.

"What the hell?" Jordan, hanging off the doorframe, dropped athletically to his feet.

The ship remained suspended ninety degrees sideways; the three of them were now standing on the wall.

Then it plummeted out of the air so fast that they started floating upwards like they were in space.

"Your quad-core engine has stopped!" Alabaster yelled at Jordan.

"It's still running," Jordan insisted. "Something's pulling us downward!"

"Hello, brother." A raspy, unmistakably female voice came through the intercom.

"Oh, shit." Alabaster said.

"Who's that?" Lisa cried.

"Lamia," he replied. "My sister."

"I don't care if she's your mother," Jordan yelled. "Kill her!"

Lamia laughed, the sound like glass scraping on wood. "Did you really think that the last hunter would escape our grasp?"

"Your ship is blocking my magic," Alabaster told him. "I need to be outside." He snapped his fingers and disappeared in a burst of green light. A moment later there was a sound like a clap of thunder, so loud that they heard it through the ship's armoured hull.

The velocity of their descent changed subtly. The left vertical engines fired, righting the ship. Their fall slowed to a stop.

"Where did he go?" Lisa shouted. "We're ten thousand feet in the air!"

"He'll be fine," Jordan headed for the cockpit. "But we need to get to those hunters. Once they're across the border it'll be doubly hard to get them."

An image of Lycaon's running pack appeared on the front screen above the cockpit windows.

"How will we get them without Alabaster?" Lisa asked. "You said-"

"As if I'd put all my eggs in one basket." For once Jordan got his phrases right. "My ship has enough weapons to blow them all to bits."

"Don't!" Lisa grabbed his arm. "You'll blow the hunters up too!"

Jordan sighed. "I didn't _say_ I was going to blow them to bits."

He strapped himself into the pilot's chair and pulled a computer mouse from its built-in dock in the table.

"Wolves are most dangerous in the open plain where they have freedom to run. But _I_ work best in small spaces."

"What are you going to do?" Lisa asked.

"My shells are armed with Greek fire," Jordan moved the cursor, which evidently served as a firing pin. "We'll trap them in a ring of flames."

The _Javelin_ tilted forward, levelling it's nose toward the plain below. The vertical engines roared, keeping the aircraft in position. A cannon lowered out of the ship's underbelly just below the nose.

Jorden clicked his mouse. The cannon opened fire in a series of cracking discharges that echoed across the Alaskan plain. A wall of fire erupt across the wolves' path as the shells hit the ground. The entire pack skidded to a halt, baying in confusion. Some of them tried to go round, but Jordan kept firing, creating a line of flames that curved steadily around them until the entire pack was trapped in a circle of six-metre flames.

"Right." Jordan stood from his chair, rolling his shoulders as he headed down the ship back into the living room. He opened his wardrobe, pushing aside a row of shirts, and pulled out what resembled a cross between a motorcycle helmet and clone trooper's helmet, bulky and rounded, jet black, with a breathing apparatus protruding out of the front. He lingered at the wardrobe for a moment.

"The rest isn't finished yet." he muttered. He closed the wardrobe and turned to Lisa, pulling the helmet on. "Let's go down there and kill them."

They went into the coffee room, stepped onto the platform.

"Once we're out there, you do what I say." he said. "No question. A single mistake and the wolves will tear you apart."

"I've fought them before, you know." Lisa pulled out her bow, two arrows nocked. "I know what I'm doing."

Jordan grabbed her arm. "The only way we can save those hunters is if we work together. We must be on the same page."

"All _right,_ Jordan." Lisa pulled her arm free. "I know."

The bay doors opened, lowering them out of the ship. Freezing wind howled, making them stagger slightly before they leaned into the wind. Jordan clipped two zip lines to their belts. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a Swiss army knife.

"Are you kidding me?" Lisa asked.

Jordan unfolded an extension shaped like a silhouette of a rifle. To Lisa's surprise the army knife expanded, growing longer and heavier until Jordan was holding an actual assault rifle in his hands.

"Ready?" he asked.

Lisa nodded. Together, they jumped off the platform into the ring of flames.

Both of them opened fire as they descended, raining slaughter on the wolf pack from above. Lisa could nock three arrows at once, each one aimed for the heart of a grey wolf. Jordan fired in short bursts, wary of the powerful wind that might divert his aim. The bullets and arrows caught the Greek fire as they flickered through the flames; each shot was like a splash of fuel that engulfed wolves in flames upon contact. The wolf pack yelped and jumped as the salvo struck home, melting into puddles upon contact with the magical ammunition.

Lisa and Jordan landed just inside the circle of fire, a wall of flames roaring at their backs. The wolf pack gave a great howl as they spotted them and surged forward, a tidal wave of shaggy grey fur flashing with claws and fangs.

Jordan switched to full automatic and opened fire, mowing the first line of eager wolves down with a sweep of his rifle. Lisa abandoned accuracy for speed, firing arrows one after another into the charging pack. She could not miss at such close range.

Despite the siblings' best efforts there were too many wolves to be held back by arrows and bullets alone. The wolf pack closed within seconds, the light of the Greek fire reflecting off their eyes.

Jordan unfolded a second attachment on his Swiss army knife. A tomahawk sprang out in his hand, a short, one-handed axe designed for close combat. With his other hand he drew out a long knife, holding it backhand red-indian style. Lisa yanked two hairclips from her hair which grew into silver knives and dropped into a fighting stance.

The two sides clashed in a fury of strikes. Jordan sidestepped the first snarling wolf, stabbing it in the neck as it went past him. A second wolf lunged and he threw his tomahawk into its forehead so hard that the blade thudded through its skull into its brain. The wolf slid to a stop at his feet, dead. A third wolf leaped at him from above and he dropped to a crouch; the wolf sailed harmlessly over his head straight into the flames.

More wolves scrambled over the fallen corpses towards him. Jordan rose from the crouch, driving his knife up a wolf's jaw. He pulled his tomahawk free from the dead wolf's forehead and struck another on the jaw, then whipped it across another's snout. Both of them reeled bloodily aside and collapsed.

The other wolves started to back away as the corpses piled at his feet, unwilling to waste their lives on Jordan's dripping black blades. They baring their fangs at him with barely-suppressed hatred.

Jordan switched to his assault rifle and blew them away as they stood snarling. The other wolves turned to flee.

"COME ON!" he roared. "Cowards!"

A chill went down his spine. Beside him, Lisa cried out in pain. Jordan spun around to see a wolf crash into her, sending her through the wall of flames.

"NO!" Jordan roared. He opened fire, blasting the wolf into oblivion.

A warning flashed inside his helmet. Jordan spun around in time to see a pair of clawed hands coming for his throat. He threw up his rifle to block the attack while simultaneously dropping his stance to avoid being knocked off his feet.

Lycaon the wolf-king growled at him, dripping red fangs two inches from his face. Jordan butted the wolfman in the face, slammed him with the shaft of his gun. Lycaon swiped at him, catching him in the side of the helmet so hard that he stumbled, almost falling into the snow. He instinctively thrust the stock of his rifle backwards, hitting Lycaon in the snout. Lycaon reeled backwards and Jordan unfolded his tomahawk.

His first blow was blocked, as he expected. Lycaon parried the tomahawk's overhead strike with a clawed hand, sparks flying as the two edges clashed. Jordan swiped low with his knife, intending to split Lycaon's guts, but the wolf-king's reflexes were lightning-fast and he stepped backwards to avoid the stroke. Jordan reversed the movement and stepped in, stabbing towards Lycaon's stomach. It was a classic backhand knife move and Lycaon had anticipated it. He grabbed Jordan's forearm, stopping him cold.

Jordan's eyes widened. He tried to pull away, but Lycaon's grip was like steel. He swung with his tomahawk. Lycaon ducked under the strike and tackled him, throwing him to the ground.

"Fool," he laughed, pinning Jordan to the ground. "Did you really think that you, a mere son of Athena, could defeat me?"

He thrust out his claws to tear out his throat.

A blur of green fire knocked him off his feet. Lycaon howled as a figure wreathed in green flames collided into him, setting him on fire as they tumbled in a heap onto the ground.

It was Lisa, her fireproof hunters' clothes covered in Greek fire like a flaming torch. Lycaon screamed as the flames seared his skin, but managed to get his feet under Lisa and launched her away, back through the ring of flames.

Jordan staggered to his feet, blinking spots out of his eyes. He unfolded his assault rifle, tottering slightly.

"Kill him!" Lycaon screamed.

Wolves surged forward. Jordan took aim and managed to shoot one, then blew another away at point-blank range. The other wolves were one metre from him when a blast of green energy struck the centre of the charging line, throwing them all backwards.

It was Alabaster, covered in burns and scratches from his battle with Lamia. He thrust out his arms and a second explosion of green blew half the pack away like rag dolls, howling as they passed through the flames.

While they'd been fighting a group of wolves had managed to dig their way under the ring of fire. A dozen of them now escaped through the tunnel, dragging Lycaon and the captured hunters away from the fight. The rest of the wolves fled after them.

"Alabaster," Jordan groaned. "Get Lisa."

Alabaster turned and ran after her, passing through the Greek fire as if it was no more than an illusion.

Jordan pressed a button on his belt to activate his tracker, signalling the _Javelin_ to land at his location.

The wind changed slightly as the big aircraft arrived, coming to a stop above him. Confused by the Greek fire, the ship's sensors were unable to set a location to land.

Jordan sighed as he realised the problem. He pulled a grappling gun from his belt and fired it skyward. The _Javelin_ swooped towards the line, snapping it up like a fishing hook. Jordan pulled the trigger again and the gun started to reel in the cable, pulling him out of the ring of fire. He managed to drag himself onto the lowered platform.

Alabaster flew up to join him, bearing a half-conscious Lisa in his arms.

"She'll be fine," Alabaster saw his anxious look. "Just needs some rest."

"And yourself?" Jordan took in his friend's bloodied appearance.

"I'll live." The bay doors closed, sealing them inside the ship's heated interior. "What about you?"

"I need to finish my suit." Jordan growled.

(Line break)

 _Aaand I'm back! Sorry for the long wait. Been kinda busy. As always, thanks for all the views. Leave me a review. I need feedback to know where to improve._


	17. Chapter 17

_"Come north, little hunter."_ The voice was female, cold and harsh as a winter gale. _"Give me my immortality."_

Lisa glared at the trees around her, trying and failing to locate the source of the voice. "I'm not giving you anything." She trudged through knee-deep snow to a tree trunk and started to climb.

 _"You will give me everything."_ The voice seemed to come from everywhere at once. _"I am inevitable."_

Wind swirled around her as if it were trying to pull her down. Lisa reached the top of her tree, staring over the tops of snow-laden trees. She twisted around to see that the forest reached halfway up a range of mountains. Above the snowcapped peaks, the _Aurora Borealis_ glowed.

"I know where this is." Lisa said defiantly. "I'm coming for you."

"No!" A second voice rang through the forest. Lisa's heart jumped as she recognised the voice as Lanesra's. "Lisa, stay away! It's a trap!"

"Lanesra!" she turned left and right, but couldn't spot the hunter.

 _"Insolent girl,"_ the voice snapped. _"You'll regret that."_

"Leave her alone!" Lisa yelled.

Her tree trunk snapped with a loud _crack._ Lisa screamed as she fell.

And woke with a start, shivering and trembling. She sat up in bed, her mind racing.

" _Goedemorgen,_ " Jordan said from the top bunk. "Sleep well?"

" _Nee_." Lisa rubbed her eyes. " _Nachtmerrie._ " Nightmare.

She swung her legs off the bed, then frowned at the sheets. "Are these new sheets?"

"Nope." It was Alabaster, stretched out on the couch, who replied. "Didn't change them. Couldn't."

"What do you mean, couldn't?" Lisa jumped out of the bed. She stormed across the room angrily into the bathroom, slamming the door hard.

"Ten years with the hunt," Jordan rolled out of the top bunk, dropping to the floor. "What has that taught her? She hasn't changed at all. And she insists she's twenty-three."

"She doesn't act like twenty-three." Alabaster noted. "More like fifteen or sixteen."

"That's what happens when you join the hunt," Jordan growled. "You don't grow up."

The loud sucking sound of the toiletbowl came from the bathroom and Lisa yelped.

"I _told_ her to close the lid," Jordan sighed.

"We should keep everything in the toilet," Alabaster suggested. "And empty it on Lycaon when we find him."

"In that case I'll go to the bathroom before you." Jordan laughed. "And avoid it after." He walked off to the coffee room to continue work on his suit.

Alone in the room, Alabaster picked up his cards again. Jordan wasn't the only one in need of an upgrade. The fight with Lamia had left him drained and depleted, and he'd only managed to repel her. If he wanted to destroy her he'd need better weapons.

He concentrated on the cards, channelling magic into them. Skilled as he was, working with magic was a long, complex process. What he had in mind would take a long time to produce, and that was assuming he didn't make any mistakes.

Through the bathroom door, the faint sound of running water reached his ears; Lisa was taking a shower. His mind drifted toward her for a moment, then the thought made him wonder when he'd last had a shower. He probably smelled like a locker room. He frowned and pushed the thought out of his mind. There was no time for distraction, much less a girl. Not even a girl like her. He focused on his cards again, feeling the energy build within them as he worked. This was it, he was sure. The weapon he needed to destroy Lamia for good.

The bathroom door opened, hinges squealing, but Alabaster didn't notice, immersed in his own world. It was only when the warm scent of water and soap reached his nose that he realised Lisa was right beside him.

Her fingers traced the edge of the bandage on the side of his neck. He froze.

"What happened to you?" she asked softly.

"Lamia got inside my guard. Almost sliced my head off." A shiver went through him, the combination of Lisa's close proximity and her feather-light touch.

"I'm sorry," Lisa jerked her hand backwards like she'd been scalded. "Did I hurt you?"

"No," Alabaster would have shaken his head if not for his injury. "Not at all."

"Did you manage to kill her?" she asked.

"No." Alabaster wished he had. "Flattened her face, though. She won't be looking so good for the next few decades."

"That didn't kill her?"

"She's hard to kill." Alabaster sighed. "Believe me, I've tried. With this, however," he showed her a card, which had the faint outline of a man. "I can crush her like a bug."

"What is it?" Lisa asked.

"A combat avatar," Alabaster replied. "Made from magic energy."

"What's a combat avatar?"

Alabaster paused, considering how to explain it to someone who didn't know magic.

"Think of it like a suit of armour made from magic energy," he said at last.

"Sounds cool," Lisa said. "Can you make one for all of us?"

"No. Non-magic users wouldn't be able to control it. It would dissipate like steam, or, more likely, blow up."

"I see." Lisa sounded disappointed.

"Hey, you two!" Jordan's voice boomed through the intercom, making both of them jump. "Breakfast."

"Will you _stop_ doing that?" Lisa yelled.

(Line break)

Percy never made it out of New York.

After the meeting with Annabeth, he spent the rest of the day scouring the city with Blackjack, searching for anything that might lead him to Thalia and the missing hunters.

No luck. The city bustled as usual with people and cars. Christmas was around the corner and everyone was in a festive mood. Stores and supermarkets were filled with New Yorkers stocking up for the big celebration, but there was nothing to indicate any magical activity, not even a single monster. Try as he might, Percy kept coming up empty.

Night began to fall by the time Percy pulled Blackjack into a doughnut drive-in. Both of them were exhausted. Percy could barely keep his eyes open. Blackjack's coat was slick with sweat, making him shiver in the cold winter air.

 _B-Boss,_ the pegasus's teeth chattered as they trotted out onto the road, doughnuts in hand. _I don't feel so good._

"Yeah, me too," Percy murmured. He forced his head up, trying to get his bearings, and realised that he was only a few blocks from home. "I think we'll call it a day." He sighed in defeat.

 _Yeah,_ Blackjack agreed. _Good call._

He flew the short distance to his Mom's apartment block on Upper East Side. Blackjack headed back to Camp Half-Blood to spend the night.

"Mom! Paul!" he yelled as he pushed open the door.

Nobody answered. The apartment was dark and silent. Percy guessed that, like everyone else, they were out shopping for Christmas.

Percy was too tired to eat his doughnuts or take a shower. He tossed the box onto the coffee table, collapsed onto the couch and fell fast asleep.

The next morning, he woke to the sound, or rather smell, of pancakes.

"Mom?" he mumbled.

The sound of his mother's laughter came from the kitchen. "Told you it would wake him up."

"Well, I can't say I'm surprised." Paul's voice sounded slightly hollow and muffled, and Percy guessed his stepfather was speaking, as he normally did during breakfast, with his coffee cup almost to his mouth. "Even a zombie would wake up if he knew you were making pancakes."

"Hi Mom, hi Paul." Percy appeared in the kitchen doorway, blinking sleepily.

"Aaaaand he's awake!" Paul said cheerfully.

"Just in time." Sally smiled at him as she piled pancakes onto a plate. Percy moved to take a seat, but Sally blocked him, levelling the spatula against his chest.

"Shower first." she told him.

Percy nodded and stumbled toward the bathroom, tripping on Paul's chair leg halfway there.

"Oops."

Sally sighed. She pressed her fingers against the kitchen tap opening and pulled the handle, spraying a jet of water five feet across the kitchen into Percy's face.

The effect was instantaneous. Percy blinked, his eyes opening fully. His posture straightened. "Thanks, Mom."

"That's a good one," Paul laughed.

"It was either that or dump a water jug over his head." Sally turned back to the stove. "Wakes him up instantly."

"I'll remember that the next time he passes out on the couch." Paul chuckled.

The three of them talked over breakfast. Percy filled them in on what had happened at Camp: the hunters' arrival, Nico winning the game and later capturing the assassin, then Thalia's disappearance and the hunters' capture.

"It's just one thing after another, huh." Paul shook his head.

"Yeah." Percy crammed half a pancake into his mouth. "Bad enough that the assassin killed close to half of them. Now the entire hunt is missing. It's like someone's trying to exterminate them."

"In your world, that's never a coincidence." Sally remarked.

Percy jumped out of his seat.

"What is it?" Sally asked, startled.

"My doughnuts." Percy went back into the living room, but the coffee table was empty. "Where'd they go? I put them right here."

"Oh, those?" Paul and Sally shared a look. "We thought you'd gotten them for us."

Percy's eyes went wide. "You didn't eat them, did you?"

"I'm afraid we did." Paul said sheepishly.

"Not all of it." Sally pulled the box out of the fridge. "There's still one left."

"One," Percy gasped. "I bought five! That's eighty percent gone!"

"Sorry," Paul apologised. "They were just so good."

"We'll buy you another box." Sally reassured him.

Percy returned to his chair, cheered slightly by the promise of reinforcement doughnuts. Sally put the last doughnut onto his plate. "Enjoy."

He'd just crammed the last piece of doughnut into his mouth when the doorbell rang.

"That's fast." he mumbled. "Did you order a delivery?"

"No," Sally shook her head, puzzled.

"Who'd ring so early in the morning?" Paul got out of his chair and headed to the door.

Standing on the doormat was a thirteen-year-old girl. She rushed inside the moment the door opened, then scrambled to close it the moment she were inside, slamming the bolt across.

"Whoa," Paul said. "What is this, home invasion?"

"No," the girl gasped, panting hard as if she'd just finished a hundred-metre sprint. "It's…right behind me."

" _What_ is?" Paul asked, bewildered.

A torrent of light brown flakes flew in from under the door. Paul stumbled backwards, his white and pink bunny slippers covered in brown dust. The girl cried out as the flakes came together in the middle of the room, swirling like a dust devil to form a short, pudgy creature that resembled a toddler, except that this creature had brown flakes for skin, glowing green eyes and fangs.

"A karpos!" Paul backed away.

"Tremble before the power of wheeeat!" the little creature hissed, then froze.

Percy's sword stuck out of the centre of its chest.

"I eat wheat for breakfast." Percy told it. "Every day."

"No…" the little fellow looked crestfallen, almost cute. "Every day…" The karpos dissolved into flakes.

"Oh, there goes the carpet." Sally shook her head at the pile of weetabix. "I'll get the broom."

There was another knock at the door.

"What now?" Paul backed away from the door, unwilling to let in any more surprises.

"Jean!" a guy's voice yelled from outside. "Are you in there?"

"You know who that is?" Percy asked her.

It's Alex," the girl, Jean, nodded. "My, um…"

"Satyr?" Percy filled in.

Jean nodded.

"I see." Percy capped his sword, crossed to the door and opened it.

"Sorry," Alex the satyr clopped inside, holding his pants up with one hand. "In my panic I ran two floors up. Are you ok?"

"Yeah." Jean clasped her hands together. "Thanks to Percy Jackson."

"Percy Jackson?" Alex turned around and came face-to-face with the son of Poseidon, who'd been standing behind the open door. He jumped.

"Hi." he stuck out his hand. "Alex Grove, New York group. Sorry to barge in unannounced."

"It's fine." Percy shook his hand. "Was there anything else apart from the karpos?"

"No, just the one." Alex glanced at the pile of flakes that Sally was beginning to sweep up. "I have a wheat allergy," he said sheepishly. "That's why I couldn't handle it."

Percy smiled faintly. "I take it you need my help getting to Camp Half-Blood?"

"Yeah," Alex admitted. "We probably would. A young half-blood in the open would attract all sorts of monsters."

Percy sighed inwardly. He was supposed to begin heading towards Ohio today. But he knew he couldn't leave them undefended.

"All right, I'll come with you." Percy promised. "Is your house nearby?" he asked Jean. "If it's not too far we'll make a stop for you to pack a suitcase."

"I'm only a few blocks away." Jean said.

"Right then," Percy jerked a thumb towards the kitchen. "Let me finish my breakfast and we'll head over."

Jean's house was a small apartment on the third floor crammed with parcels and boxes.

"My Dad does eBay," she said embarrassedly. "A lot."

She disappeared into his room and came out a short while later lugging a suitcase.

"That was fast." Percy remarked.

"I don't have a lot of stuff." she shrugged.

Percy helped her navigate the suitcase through the stacked eBay boxes. Alex opened the door, then froze.

Two grey wolves sat on the doormat, eyes trained on them.

"Holy _shit!_ " Jean jumped out of her skin. She ducked behind her suitcase.

"Wait." Percy stared at the wolves, recognising their sharp gaze and tense, confident posture. "They're Roman wolves. Lupa's. Jean, you must be a Roman demigod."

Jean blinked. "There are _Roman_ demigods?"

"I forgot to tell her about that," Alex muttered sheepishly.

"Yes, there are." Percy gestured her to get up from behind her suitcase. "You need to follow them to the Wolf House in San Francisco."

"San Francisco?" Jean sounded horrified. "That's all the way at the West Coast!"

"Don't worry." Percy said. "Once we get to Camp Half-Blood I'll call some pegasi to fly you over."

The wolves followed them all the way to Camp.

Percy only discovered this when they arrived at Half-Blood Hill. He got out of the car to see the two grey wolves sitting on the roof. They jumped to the ground as the others started to get out, scaring Jean, who yelped and fell back into the car.

"Seriously?" Percy said.

"How did we not notice them?" Alex edged nervously around one, which seemed to be trying to drill holes into him with its stare.

"Stalker wolves." Percy shook his head. "That is just creepy."

(Line break)

"There's loads of them." Alabaster muttered.

The _Javelin_ had arrived at last at the captured hunters' location, allowing its powerful cameras to capture a live feed overhead view of the enemy camp. Jordan, Lisa and Alabaster stood around the rectangular table/touch screen in the middle of the coffee room, staring down at the live feed. None of them liked what they saw.

The enemy camp was a haphazard sprawl of tents, camper vans and some igloo-like structures that looked like they'd been built by a three-year-old. Lycaon's wolves patrolled the perimeter in a hundred-metre radius, supported by groups of gryphons flying in v-formation. Above the camp, storm spirits gusted about haphazardly as if they were drunk.

The camp itself was populated by a mixture of other monsters; cyclopes and six-armed Earthborn, ten-metre-tall giants.

"Hyperboreans." Jordan tapped the screen, scowling. "Ice giants."

"You've fought them before?" Alabaster asked.

"Once." Jordan said curtly.

There looked to be about two hundred monsters in total. Jordan, Alabaster and Lisa had seen bigger armies when Kronos and Gaia rose, but with only three of them there the odds of victory looked slim.

"So, what's the plan?" Lisa asked.

The _Javelin_ 's missiles can blow them all up," Jordan said dismissively. "But not until we get the hunters out of here."

"Can you locate them?" Lisa asked Alabaster.

The son of Hecate shook his head. "There's a heavy enchantment around this area. It was hard enough to track them to this place. Finding their exact location is impossible."

"That place is crawling with bodies." Jordan said. "My heat sensors are useless."

"I have an idea." Lisa said. "I'll go down there. They'll put me with the rest of the captured hunters. Once that happens, you'll bungee-jump in to save the day."

"No." Jordan said flatly.

"Why not?" Lisa asked. "They're not going to kill me. They would have killed the other hunters already if that's what they wanted."

"I'm not letting you go down there." Jordan shook his head. "Too dangerous."

"It's the only way!" Lisa protested. "It's impossible to sneak past all those monsters."

"Those monsters," Jordan told her. "Would love for you to go down there. They won't kill you. They have worse things in store."

"But once I find them-"

"You're not listening to me."

"I know you're afraid something will happen to me-"

"I _know_ what will happen to you."

"Stop treating me like a kid!" Lisa screamed into his face. "I'm not thirteen anymore!"

"Stop." Alabaster intervened before the next salvo of arguments could begin. "We've no hope of fighting the enemy if we can't stop fighting among ourselves."

"I'm _not_ letting you go down there."

"She doesn't have to," Alabaster said decisively. "Because I've got a better idea." He pulled a card from his pocket. On it was a crude drawing of a girl.

He tapped the card. Green smoke spewed from it, swirling to form a live-size girl in silver camouflage that looked the splitting image of Lisa.

"Hello," the mistform said. "I am Lisa van Staal."

The real Lisa took a step back, eyes wide. "What-"

"We'll let this mistform get captured instead of you," Alabaster said, satisfied. "And once that's done we'll swoop in to rescue the other hunters."

"That looks _exactly_ like me." Lisa shuddered.

"That's the point."

"It's creepy."

Alabaster touched the card to the mistform, sucking it back into the card.

"Why exactly do you have a mistform of my sister?" Jordan asked pointedly.

"Thought it might come in handy." Alabaster said unconvincingly. "If everyone's in agreement?" he looked round the table. Jordan and Lisa nodded.

"Right then." Alabaster clapped his hands together. "Suit up."

The tent flap was abruptly thrown open, letting in a harsh glare of sunlight along with a burst of freezing winter air.

The fourteen hunters inside were mostly asleep, huddled against each other to preserve warmth. Their captors had stripped them of their warm winter gear, leaving them exposed to the biting cold. A few of them had already developed hypothermia. These hunters were in the centre of the group, covered on all sides by their sisters' shivering bodies. The outermost hunters in the group, the ones most exposed to the cold, suffered in silence, counting down the hours minute by minute until they either fell asleep or the time came to switch positions with their warmer comrades inside the huddle.

Three of them were still awake and cried out in fear as the tent flap opened, shielding their eyes against the sudden light.

As suddenly as it had opened, the flap shut, leaving them to blink spots out of their eyes. Something hit the ground with a thump.

"Who's there?" one of the girls called out, a tremble in her voice.

"Hello," the reply was bright and cheery. "I am Lisa van Staal."

"Lisa?" one of the other hunters, woken by the brief commotion, lifted her head.

"Yes," the mistform's cheerful tone sounded like an advertisement for children's toys. "I am here to rescue you!"

"Oh, no," Lanesra, her worst fears realised, started to sob. "No. Lisa, I told you not to come!"

"Don't worry!" the mistform chirped. "I am here to rescue you!"

"That doesn't sound like Lisa." one of the hunters realised.

"They've beaten her senseless," another guessed.

"Lisa?" Thalia's newly-woken voice came from the darkness. "Lisa's here?"

"Yes," Lanesra sobbed. "She came despite my warning. Oh Lisa, _why_?"

"You should be glad she came." The new voice was male. All the hunters froze. "Otherwise we would never have found you."

"I am here to rescue you!" the mistform parroted.

"Alabaster, shut that thing off." Jordan sighed. "That does _not_ sound like her at all."

The mistform fell silent as Alabaster sucked it back into his card.

"Who's there?" Lanesra called fearfully.

A pair of glowing eyes appeared out of the darkness, blinding white lights that had been built into Jordan's helmet. "My name is Jordan van Staal. I'm here to rescue you."

(Line break)

 _As always, thanks for viewing! Leave a review if you have any comments or feedback._


	18. Chapter 18

The first combatant to open the battle was Lisa at the helm of the _Javelin_. Explosions shook the ground as she levelled the aircraft's cannon and pulled the trigger. A volley of Greek fire shells detonated all around the perimeter of the camp to create a circle of green fire that blazed six metres high.

The barrier of flames served a dual purpose, creating a killing ground inside the camp and preventing the patrolling forces from coming to aid them. They would come rushing in at the first sign of trouble and Jordan knew it would be impossible to pick them off. They were already facing cyclopes, storm spirits and gryphons. The battle would be as chaotic as a Black Friday sale and he had no wish to add Lycaon's wolves into the mix.

A second volley shook the ground as Lisa turned the _Javelin_ 's weapons on the enemy camp. The big cannon's calibre was too large to fire on the camp without risking hitting the hunters as well, so Lisa switched to a second, smaller group of weapons mounted on the _Javelin_ 's underbelly. White-hot tracer rounds and explosive shells rained down on the enemy camp, slaughtering unsuspecting monsters in scores as they gaped dumbly up at the sky. The impacts pounded the ground into a mess of upturned earth, monster dust and snow until the monster camp looked like a sandcastle ravaged by a toddler.

The force of the explosions blew the hunters' tent off the ground. The freezing air hit the girls instantly, making them gasp. Alabaster snapped his fingers, erecting a glowing green dome around them to shield them from the shrapnel and cold.

Jordan could see the hunters clearly now that they were in the light. The teenage girls were completely naked, shivering, their bodies covered in injuries and burns. The monsters had had their way with them, he thought grimly. He _knew_ what the enemy would do to captured hunters and the sight of the girls made him wish that they were still in the tent.

Loud yelling reached his ears. He turned away from the hunters to see a mixed line of Earthborn and cyclopes closing in from all sides.

"You bastards," his mind was filled with fury over the horrors he knew they had inflicted on the hunters. He levelled his assault rifle and opened fire, blowing the giants into sulphurous yellow dust.

Most of the monsters in the camp had been destroyed by the _Javelin_ 's firepower, or else they were stumbling around in confusion, deafened and dazed by the explosions.

Gryphons and storm spirits dived toward him, shrieking and crackling. Jordan unfolded another attachment on his swiss army knife and a shotgun sprang out in his hands. He fired again and again, blowing gryphons to dust as they came into his range. Giants charged him and he shot them down. A blizzard of monster dust swirled around him, raining from above, bursting up around him, but he didn't notice. His mind was closed to everything apart from the enemy coming from all sides, locked in the soldier's rhythm of battle.

Three gryphons came in fast and low, three deadly shadows with claws and beaks. Jordan shot one and it burst into powder. He fired at the second, hitting its wing. The gryphon careened into the ground in an explosion of snow and black feathers.

The third one closed with impossible speed. Jordan levelled his gun at it and pulled the trigger just as it collided into him.

The impact sent him flying into a pile of collapsed tents. The shotgun went flying out of his hand. He sat up hard, wincing in expectation of pain to come.

There was none. He got to his feet, smiling.

Over his winter jacket he wore a jet black ultra-formfitting bodysuit, created chiefly from Celestial bronze among a mixture of other materials according to a secret, long-lost design that he'd learned from his father, a son of Hephaestus. The result was a lightweight, flexible armour, all but unbreakable, that could reduce any impact to nothing more than a pat on the back. It had taken him close to five years to complete, his most painstaking project apart from constructing the _Javelin,_ but now the years of careful work paid its dividends as he rose from the debris completely unharmed. His swiss army knife reappeared in his pocket as the remaining monsters closed in.

In the brief lull they'd gotten to within several metres of him. There were too many of them to gun down at such close range; he unfolded his tomahawk and pulled out his knife.

Giants, while strong, were slow, and big targets. Their lumbering bulk hampered the gryphons' speed, who in turn got in the way of the circling storm spirits. A bad combination for chaotic, close-quarters fighting, and against Jordan, a recipe for defeat.

He plunged into the melee, hacking with his tomahawk, lashing out with his knife. Giants ran into each other trying to grab him. Gryphons were knocked off their feet in the crowd. Storm spirits, creatures of infamously poor discipline, fired lightning into the mass and only succeeded in electrocuting the tallest hyperborean giants. Some of the giants swung their clubs, hitting their comrades instead of the lone demigod.

The monster Lamia appeared at the edge of the battle, growling in frustration at the chaotic mass. She was all-too-familiar with her compatriots' idiocy. They bellowed and snapped at each other while stumbling around, swinging weapons and claws uselessly while Jordan ducked and weaved among them, cutting them down with axe and knife. She raised her hand, pointed a clawed finger at Jordan.

" _Stulti carcer._ "

"No!" Alabaster, spotting her at last, landed between them. " _Aufero sarcina!_ "

With a flash of green Lamia's spell was deactivated.

Lamia snarled and extended her claws. "This time I'll make sure I kill you properly." She dived towards him.

Alabaster pulled a card from his pocket. "Let's dance."

Glowing green energy encased him like a holographic Iron Man suit, panels of green light forming around him. Alabaster cracked his neck and raised his arms into a fighting stance.

The first exchange was a test of strength, hard and fast. The two combatants slammed into each other. Alabaster held his ground.

"How-" Lamia looked dumbfounded.

"Surprise." Alabaster heaved her back, threw a punch. Lamia leaned out of the way and caught his arm. The green energy encasing it began to steam at her touch.

Alabaster slammed his other fist into her gut. Green energy blasted from his closed hand, throwing her backwards. Lamia flew thirty metres and crashed into an igloo, collapsing it completely.

A howl of fury left Alabaster's lips as he launched himself after her, covering the thirty metres in a single leap. He brought down his fist with all his strength just as Lamia got to her feet, raising her hands to shield herself.

The two of them clashed in a blinding flash of light that was immediately enveloped by a cloud of superheated steam. Alabaster was thrown into the air like a rag doll. Twenty metres up, he righted himself, unharmed apart from a long gash across the chest of his energy armour that wasn't closing. A few dozen gryphons and storm spirits came towards him and he shot them down with beams of green energy from his fists.

The steam dissipated to reveal Lamia standing in the centre of a ten-metre-wide crater, tottering slightly. Alabaster raised his arms toward her, blasting her with his energy beams.

Lamia stumbled as the twin beams hit her and almost fell. She was clearly losing and Alabaster knew it. The energy around his right arm extended to form a glowing green blade. He dived toward her.

Blinded by the torrent of green energy, Lamia didn't see him coming until it was too late.

The green blade sliced her in half like butter. Lamia crumbled into black sand.

"Finally." Alabaster muttered.

Across the ruins of the enemy camp the hunters were huddled in their green dome, staring wide-eyed at the carnage all around them, while a distance away Jordan was still surrounded by the enemy monsters. Alabaster scythed down a dozen of them with a blast of green energy, then swept the energy beam over the entire group, decapitating every giant three metres tall and above. Twenty large bodies fell into the snow with a sound like sacks of flour being dropped. In the brief lull that followed, Jordan pulled a grenade from his belt and pulled the pin.

"What in the world-"

Alabaster didn't get the chance to finish his sentence. Greek fire erupted from the grenade, charring the crowd of monsters to ash. Alabaster gaped in horror at the swirling green conflagration.

"No! What did he-"

A single figure appeared in the centre of the flames, a tall man in black marching out of the fire. Flames clung to Jordan's black suit briefly, then flickered out, leaving him steaming in the cold air but evidently unharmed. Alabaster sighed in relief.

"Let's get the hunters out of here before anybody else shows up." Typically there was an edge of impatience to Jordan's voice, as if he was annoyed that it had taken him so long to take down fifty monsters single-handedly.

The battlefield had fallen silent apart from the crackling of flames. Smoke hung in the air like a curtain. Jordan activated his plipper, summoning the _Javelin_ to land at his location.

A particularly cold draft drifted across the battlefield, making Alabaster shiver despite the energy wrapped around him. The atmosphere shifted subtly.

A girl materialised beside the green dome, pale-skinned with glossy black hair, dressed in a white silk suit.

" _Bon soir, mes amis._ " she said. "I've been looking forward to meeting you."

The hunters cried out as they spotted her, scrambling to the other side of the dome to get away from her. Their fear was so great that they pressed against the opposite side of the dome, squeezing against each other.

The girl gave them a disdainful glance. An icicle formed in her hand. She popped the dome like a balloon.

"Hey!" Alabaster took a step forward, but it was too late. The girl waved a hand at the hunters. A flurry of snow obscured them from sight. When it settled, they had been frozen solid, turned into ice sculptures. Alabaster was stunned.

"Who are you?" Jordan yelled.

"Can't you guess?" The girl turned to him. "I expected better from you, son of Athena."

"Khione." The name popped into Alabaster's head, one of the thousands he'd memorised from the Greek pantheons. "Goddess of snow."

"I don't care who you are." Jordan growled. He unfolded his assault rifle and fired at her.

The gunfire echoed across the battlefield. Khione held up her hand and a freezing draft stopped all the bullets in midair.

"A poor effort, Jordan van Staal. But then, you were never outstanding in battle." She waved her hand at him, encasing him in ice.

Alabaster lifted off the ground, glowing blinding green like an overcharged traffic light.

" _Templum incendare._ "

Khione laughed. "I'm a goddess. Your little spell won't work on me."

"That was just a ranging shot." The green energy on his arms extended into blades. He shot towards her with the speed of a bullet.

A second icicle formed in Khione's other hand, a deadly-sharp dagger glistening in the weak sun. With a flick of her wrists she threw both at him.

Alabaster parried one away with his blades. The second grazed his shoulder as he dodged out of the way, scoring a line in his energy armour.

Khione fired a blast of wintry sleet at him. The attack deflected off his armour, dimming it slightly. Alabaster slashed at her with his left blade as he came into reach. Khione parried with two icicle daggers. Alabaster reversed direction in an instant, pivoted and hacked down with his second blade. The blow shattered Khione's icicles. Alabaster stabbed at her just as she hit him with another blast of sleet, throwing him off his feet.

Khione stumbled backwards, pressing a hand to her chest where Alabaster's blade had entered.

"You _dare_ wound me?" Golden ichor flowed like water from between her fingers, staining her white silk suit. Her face was filled with fury.

"I marched against the Olympians with Kronos." Alabaster sneered. "You don't scare me."

"You'll suffer for your arrogance." Khione spread her hands. Storm spirits appeared out of the air, surrounding Alabaster from all sides. As one, they raised their arms towards him and blasted him with lightning.

Alabaster clenched his fists. Blinding green light exploded from him, a powerful blast that disintegrated all the spirits instantly. Khione stumbled backwards, her white suit charred to tatters.

Alabaster fired beams of green energy at her. Khione retaliated with a blast of wintry sleet. The two attacks met in the middle with an explosion of steam that instantly turned to snow in the freezing air. Alabaster threw himself through the cloud of snow, slamming into Khione and sending her flying. He took a step forward, intending to pound her into snow dust, then stopped.

An icy sensation started in his stomach. He looked down to see two jagged icicles pierced through his energy armour, sticking out of his shirt. He swallowed.

"Did you really think it would be that easy to fight me?" Khione asked.

Alabaster grabbed the icicles and pulled them out, wincing at the ripping sensation. The energy covering his hands dimmed, becoming opaque and brittle upon contact with the icicles, then fizzled out completely.

Khione blasted him with sleet. Alabaster stumbled backwards, holding up his arms to shield himself. The fight with Lamia had been more draining than he realised. His defences were weakened from repeated attacks. He tried to channel more energy into his protective insignia, but his magic was depleted from constant exertion.

The sharp crack of gunfire reached his ears. The torrent of sleet stopped.

Alabaster lowered his arms to see Khione standing with a surprised look on her face, her back arched unnaturally into the air.

In the course of battle she'd wound up standing right in front of Jordan's frozen form, in point blank range of his outstretched assault rifle, which wouldn't have mattered, except that the son of Athena was no longer frozen. Alabaster realised that he must've found a way to defrost himself, playing dead while he waited for the right opportunity. Now he stepped forward, pouring a volley of gunfire into the snow goddess from point-blank range. He changed to his shotgun and the heavy blast threw Khione forward to her knees. Jordan sprang at her like a panther, tomahawk and knife poised in his hands.

Khione dissolved into snow just as Jordan plunged his blades down. Jordan wound up flopping into a pile of snow. He jumped up, blades ready.

"Coward!" he yelled. "Show yourself!"

Khione's laughter filled the battlefield, seeming to come from everywhere at once.

"I'm a goddess. I don't fight by your rules."

The temperature plummeted. Snow started to fall as a powerful blizzard blew in out of nowhere. Jordan swore into the wind as he suddenly found himself knee-deep in snow.

"We have to get out of here!" Alabaster yelled through the comlink.

"If the _Javelin_ tries to land it'll be blown away too," Jordan shook his head. "Teleport us."

"No!" Lisa's voice came through their earpieces. "We need to save the hunters!"

"We can't save anybody if we're frozen to death." Alabaster started to summon his magic. "Get over here so I can take you with me."

Jordan struggled to make headway against the wind. It pushed him back with hurricane force. He started to slide backwards even though he was chest-deep in snow.

"You go," he said. "Come back for me."

"No way," Alabaster argued. "She'll kill you the moment she has the chance."

The blizzard seemed to falter a little, as if the storm was dying down. Alabaster and Jordan shared a glance.

"I've decided it'll be more fun to have my wolves tear you to pieces." Khione said.

A cacophony of howls cut through the wind. Lycaon's wolves appeared from all directions, surrounding them. Jordan realised that the magical blizzard must have extinguished the circle of Greek fire separating the wolves from the camp.

"Save yourself," he told Alabaster.

"Never. I'm not letting you die." Alabaster insisted.

"You barely have enough magic left to prevent yourself from freezing." Jordan pointed out. "Get back to the _Javelin_ and fly out of here. You need to protect Lisa."

"That's your job." Alabaster told him. "You're her brother."

"I've never been able to do that."

"Then you'll learn. I'll teleport you out."

"Don't be stupid!" Jordan yelled at him. "Get out of here while you still can!"

Alabaster shook his head. "Better you than me. You're the one who's actually lived a half-decent life."

Green mist started to swirl around Jordan.

"No!" Jordan roared.

He vanished, whisked away by the last of Alabaster's magic.

Alone and surrounded by wolves, Alabaster cracked his neck. From his pocket he pulled out a small knife, his last resort for absolute emergencies. "Come on, then. Don't keep me waiting."

In the midst of everything nobody paid any heed to the frozen collection of hunters, not even when a luminous green spartus marched up to it and started hacking away with a pickaxe and shovel. So everyone was surprised when Thalia Grace's frozen form was detached from the others with a _crack,_ falling into the snow.

Everyone turned towards the sound. The spartus, suddenly the focus of attention, brandished a rolled-up newspaper at them.

"What in the world?" Alabaster muttered.

The zombie warrior grabbed frozen Thalia and started to run away.

"Stop that thing!" Khione ordered.

A half-dozen wolves raced after the spartus, but as they galloped past the rest of the frozen hunters a shower of throwing knives flickered out from behind the block of girls, sending all of them crashing into the snow. The wolves melted into shadow.

Nico di Angelo pulled himself to the top of the pile of frozen hunters, standing on them as if they were a pile of rocks. "Did you really think you could escape _my_ reach?"

The rest of the pack howled in outrage and rushed towards the son of Hades, forgetting all about Alabaster. Nico took a big leap off the frozen hunters, landing in the snow right next to the son of Hecate.

"Haven't seen _you_ in a long time." Nico said to him. "Let's catch up over lunch." He grabbed onto him and shadow-travelled them both away.


	19. Chapter 19

"You c-c-couldn't have done that earlier?" Alabaster's teeth chattered faster than a machine gun.

"If I had revealed myself earlier, I wouldn't have had the chance to rescue you." Nico explained patiently. "I needed to draw the wolves away to create the opening."

"G-g-g-give me some nectar."

Nico pulled out a small flask from his jacket pocket. Alabaster reached for it, but his hands shook like he was having an epileptic fit. Nico swatted his arms away and gave the flask to Lisa, who was standing beside him. "Pinch his nose before you pour it down his throat."

Lisa frowned. "Why?"

"He's shivering so badly, he might not be able to control his breathing. We don't want him to choke."

Jordan walked into the room dressed in a dark blue bathrobe. Unlike Alabaster, he hadn't felt the effects of Khione's blizzards at all, thanks to his bodysuit's superb insulation. "Thermostat is turned up. Twelve hours and you'll be back to normal temperature." He frowned as he saw Lisa trickling nectar into Alabaster's mouth, holding his nose with her other hand.

"T-t-twelve?" Alabaster chattered, and almost choked on his nectar.

"Don't talk." Lisa said.

"Maybe we should get him a blanket." Nico suggested.

"Pointless." Jordan shook his head. "He's too cold to generate any warmth."

"Ask Lisa to snuggle up with him." Nico said, receiving twin glares from both van Staal siblings.

"I'm a _hunter,_ " Lisa hissed.

"My apologies." Nico said unsincerely. "I forgot."

"What about her?" Jordan pointed a finger at frozen Thalia, whom Nico had dropped on her face in the middle of the room. He wiped his finger across the ice statue, frowning. "She's not melting."

"It must be a spell." Nico shrugged. "Alabaster should be able to defrost her in a few hours."

"What about the rest of the hunters?" Lisa asked persistently. "We still need to save them."

"If we're going up against a goddess, we're going to need more firepower." Nico decided.

"We have her," Jordan pointed at Frozen Thalia.

"We just rescued her from Khione." Alabaster, sufficiently warmed up to speak, pointed out. "She won't be of much help."

"Something bigger," Nico agreed.

"What's bigger than her?" Jordan asked.

Nico simply smiled and walked out of the room. Jordan followed him to the cockpit where the communication equipment was stored.

"I assume your ship's communication links are shielded." Nico said.

"Of course."

"Good." Nico dialled a number.

"Who are you calling?" Jordan asked.

"Jason Grace."

"That's your big idea?" Jordan said incredulously. "Another child of Zeus?"

"It's what he can do that matters."

"What can he do that Thalia can't?" Jordan asked.

"You'll see." The line continued to ring. After a long while, the other side picked up.

"Jason, it's Nico. I need you to get me something…"

"You're insane." Jordan paced across the living room, from the doorway to the bed, then back again.

"I'm genius." Nico, trying to take a nap on the couch, waved a hand at him without opening his eyes.

"It's a terrible plan." Jordan snapped.

"You have a better one?" Nico shot back.

"No," Jordan admitted.

"Then shut up. I'm trying to fall asleep."

Lisa winced at the biting retort, expecting a fiery response from her short-tempered brother, but to her surprise Jordan fell into a brooding silence. His scowl darkened further, the only visible indication of his growing dissatisfaction. He paced back and forth, over and over. Judging by how worn the section of carpet he was pacing across was compared to the rest of the room, he did this a lot.

Lisa glanced toward the lower bunk, where Thalia, now defrosted, was sound asleep. The daughter of Zeus had not woken in the hours since Alabaster had disabled the freeze spell on her. Jordan and Nico had deemed it unwise to try to wake her themselves, and Lisa hoped she would regain consciousness in time for the coming battle.

"We're here." Jordan's voice broke the silence, snapping Nico out of his nap. The son of Hades sat up, his hair a tousled mess.

"Let's see what they've been up to." He and Lisa followed Jordan into the coffee room. They cleared the big table, which Jordan had somehow managed to turn into a mess all over again. Jordan switched on the touch screen.

"Won't Khione know we're here?" Lisa asked.

"We're beyond the troposphere," Jordan replied. "That's outside her control."

"But once we go down there, she'll surely notice." Nico said.

The feed came online at last and Jordan zoomed in on the image of the camp.

"Oh, wow."

The enemy camp had undergone a major upgrade.

The interior of the camp now comprised a large building that looked to be made from snow bricks. Around it, towering walls of ice rose thirty metres above the ground, its outer surface covered in razor-sharp icicles. At the bottom of the wall were two layers of trenches lined with more icicles. On the top of the wall, which was wide enough to fit a half-dozen racing chariots wheel-to-wheel, Earthborn, gryphons, warriors that looked to be made from ice, and storm spirits guarded the ramparts, manning ballistae and onagers the size of cement mixers, while ten-metre-tall hyperboreans and wolves patrolled the outside of the wall.

"Oh, shit." Lisa gaped at the array of fortifications.

"They've built themselves a snow fort." Jordan sounded more amused than intimidated.

"What's that?" Nico pointed to the flat roof of the building, where earthborn were building what looked like some sort of altar.

Jordan zoomed in on the roof. "What in the world…"

The altar was built in the traditional Greek design for slaughtering animals. Jordan's eyes widened as he caught sight of the rest of the frozen hunters next to the altar, flanked by four ice warriors. A sick feeling rose from his stomach as he realised what was going on.

"Oh, shit." Nico, bent over the table, straightened away from the screen as he reached the same conclusion.

"They're going to kill the hunters!" Lisa cried.

"This is barbaric," Nico shook his head.

"Look," Jordan pointed to the screen. "There's Khione."

The others turned their attention back to the live feed. True enough, the goddess of snow had appeared on the roof, this time in a long white dress patterned with ice crystals.

"Who's _that?_ " Jordan pointed to a second figure beside her, a tall, pale woman, not as pale as Khione, with black hair and luminous yellow eyes. She was dressed in a see-through lacey white dress, which didn't reveal much, because her entire form seemed to be translucent, flickering like a candle flame.

"I've seen her before," Nico muttered. The memory surfaced, the woman in his dream the night Thalia had disappeared.

"It's Artemis," Lisa said. "But…what's she doing with Khione?"

"That's not Artemis." Jordan shook his head.

"What do you mean? She looks exactly like her." Lisa said.

"How can that be Artemis?" Jordan said. "We're in Alaska."

"You're right," Nico realised. "But if that isn't Artemis, then who?"

"A goddess, clearly," Jordan pointed to her flickering form. "Nothing else flickers like that. And her energy reading is huge."

"How do we know it's not coming from Khione?" Nico asked.

"A minor goddess could never produce something like that." Jordan scoffed.

"What are we going to do?" Lisa asked. She looked close to tears.

"I need to go to the underworld." Nico said. "Tell Alabaster and Jason to meet back here." Alabaster had gone with Jason to Olympus. " _Don't_ engage until I get back." He snapped his fingers and vanished into his shadow.

"Suit up," Jordan told Lisa. "We attack the moment he gets back." He went into the living room and grabbed his bodysuit from the wardrobe. Once he'd put the helmet on, he used its built-in comlink to dial Alabaster.

"How's it going?" he asked when the son of Hecate finally picked up.

"Almost done." Alabaster's reply was a hushed whisper. "Why?"

"We don't have much time. They're about to kill the rest of the hunters."

"We'll be there as soon as we can." Alabaster promised.

"Jordan!" Lisa's cry came from the coffee room.

"That's not good." Jordan hurried out of the room.

"What is it?" he asked.

Lisa was crying, tears running down her face. She pointed to the screen.

"Oh, shit."

On the rooftop, the hunters had been defrosted, held at spearpoint by a circle of ice warriors. Two of the icemen grabbed a girl, dragging her over to the altar. Lisa screamed.

Jordan covered her eyes, pulling her away from the screen. "Don't look." He shut off the feed.

"We have to save them!" Lisa sobbed. "Please, Jordan."

"The moment we go down there we're as good as dead." Jordan struggled to think over Lisa's sobs. "We need to wait for the others."

"There's no time!" Lisa wailed. "They're going to die!"

"What's going on?" Alabaster asked through his earpiece.

"They're killing the hunters as we speak." Jordan's voice was anguished. " _Tell_ me you've got it."

"Almost there." Alabaster replied.

"Damn it, Al, they're dying down there!"

"If I get discovered, _I'll_ die," Alabaster whispered back.

"That's why you brought Jason Grace!" Jordan roared. "Hurry up!"

He cut the connection, furious at the helplessness of the situation. "I'm going down there. Maybe I can delay them."

"I'm coming with you." Lisa said.

Jordan shook his head. "Get in the cockpit. If I can't save them, you blow them all to Tartarus."

"Jordan-"

"There's no time to argue. Just do it." He stepped onto the platform and stabbed the button with his finger. "I love you."

One last look at his sister's tearful, distraught face, then the platform disappeared under his feet and he plummeted out of the ship like a stone.

And immediately found himself on the rooftop beside the altar, surrounded by ice warriors.

" _Bonjour,_ son of Athena." Khione smirked. "We meet again."

They must have been watching his ship the whole time, he realised, waiting for him to leave its protection so they could bring him straight onto their roof. He had played right into their hands.

"This time I'll destroy you." he bristled. "Scatter your essence across the void of Chaos."

Khione looked amused. "Really. And just how are you going to do that?"

Jordan looked over at the altar, now covered in blood. The corpses of dead hunters were piled beside it like discarded rag dolls. Only one of the hunters still struggled against the grip of the icemen, screaming into her gag. Her face was bloodied, presumably due to failed escape attempts, her skin bruised and blue from the biting cold.

Jordan felt a wash of calm descend on him. All his life, he'd lived in anticipation of this moment. He'd never expected to live long, especially in Alaska. His mother had been right, yet again. Alaska would be his grave.

"Lisa, open fire."

Nothing happened. Jordan envisioned her sitting at the controls, her finger on the trigger, tears running down her face as she stared at the image of the rooftop on the screen. She wouldn't be able to do it. She'd always run from the hard decisions. He swore.

"Failed yet again." Khione was enjoying herself, savouring her victory. "So unlike children of Athena. No wonder you came to Alaska. Your mother must not have been able to stand you."

"I left because I wasn't needed there." Jordan told her.

"Because all your other siblings were perfect?" Khione smiled.

"Sound familiar, does it?" Jordan fired back. "You seem to know me so well. Maybe that's because _you're_ a reject too. I hear Zethes and Calais have worked their way back into their father's good books."

A feeble riposte, but Khione's expression turned icy.

"They'll regret casting me out soon enough. For now, however, crushing your little mortal soul will give me enough satisfaction."

The tall goddess stepped forward. "We're wasting time." She swept her hand towards the remaining hunter. "Kill her and be done with it."

"Patience," Khione held up her hand. "The last hunter is not yet in our grasp. And there is the matter of Thalia Grace."

"What does that have to do with prolonging her life?" the goddess asked impatiently.

"Human nature." Khione replied. "As long as she is alive, they will come for her. Our prey will walk straight into our hands, like this one here."

Khione turned back to him.

"You're full of arrogance, like your mother. I'll enjoy seeing you break when I kill your sister in front of your eyes."

"You'll do no such thing." Jordan spat.

"Who's going to stop me?" Khione asked. "You?"

"Yes." Jordan took a step forward and the icemen levelled their spears at his chest.

"And just how will you do that?" Khione sounded amused.

Jordan, who'd been listening to his earpiece throughout Khione's monologue, smiled inside his helmet. "I called some friends for help."

Shadows condensed on the rooftop, blocking out the sun. When the light returned, Nico di Angelo was standing beside him, dressed in a black baseball cap and cloak over stygian iron armour.

"I'll kill you all for the inconvenience you've caused me."

"I'm immortal, you fool." Khione said coldly.

"Even better. I'll send you to Tartarus." Nico drew his sword, a one-and-a-half-metre double-edged blade made of stygian iron etched with silver designs. His baseball cap changed into a stygian iron helmet that seemed to radiate pure fear.

Everyone on the roof took a step backwards.

"Is that-" Khione suddenly looked unsure.

"The sword of Hades." Nico smiled. "And the helm of darkness."

"How in the world did you manage to get _that_?" Jordan asked. "Not that I'm complaining."

"I'm the son of Hades." Nico said, as if that explained everything. "Now," He turned back to the two goddesses. "Which one of you wants to go first?"

"I don't have time for this," Khione snarled, trying to regain her composure. "Kill them both. The sword will be useful to us."

Ice warriors surged forward, spears levelled.

Nico went straight for the two goddesses, cutting three icemen in half with a single sweep as they tried to corral him with their spears. He pulled a silver hunters' knife from his belt with his left hand and stabbed a fourth, then sidestepped and hacked down on a fifth as it came towards him. The son of Hades fought his way through the enemy ranks in a blur of black, slashing down monsters left and right.

To his left, a rush of ice warriors fell on Jordan, beating him to the ground in a rain of blows. Their icicle spears broke harmlessly against his bodysuit, and when their spears failed they piled onto him like rugby players and battered him with their fists.

Jordan remained calm as he was knocked from side to side, knowing that nothing in the enemy's arsenal could penetrate his bodysuit's weave. Wriggling his arm under his body, he grabbed a Greek fire grenade from his belt and popped the pin. The resultant explosion blew him ten metres into the air, exactly as he'd intended. He dropped onto the roof in a cloud of green fire, tomahawk and knife ready.

The massive explosion had either disintegrated the icemen or swept them off the roof, but it had also weakened the building's structure. Cracks appeared in the icy surface. Jordan's eyes widened as his corner of the roof collapsed completely. Monsters gaped from the battlements all around as he fell through the roof in a rain of ice, landing hard on the floor of the level below it.

On the roof, Nico fought on, cutting down monsters left and right. He passed the collapsed remains of the altar, where the surviving hunter was picking herself up. It was Lanersa, he realised, black and blue all over from the cold and the beatings, but very much alive. Nico tossed the silver knife to her.

"I'll return your jacket later."

Directly in front of him formed a wall of newly-arrived Earthborn, beyond which the two goddesses watched as he fought his way closer and closer. The six-armed ogres charged forward, waving clubs and chunks of ice in their hands. The weakened roof cracked and popped under their weight. Nico sliced through them like butter, but for all his skill he was forced back by their sheer numbers.

The sound of gunfire cut through the chaos of battle. Bullets sliced through the air from below, turning Earthborn into puddles of dirt upon contact. Others yelled in surprise as the ice gave way under their feet and they fell to the floor below, where Jordan waited with his assault rifle.

Nico smiled and covered the newly-opened chasm in a single leap, landing right in front of the two goddesses. He stabbed at Khione, who vanished in a cloud of snow. The other goddess took a step backwards. Her flickering form solidified. Her see-through dress melted into battle armour. Two swords appeared in her hands, long, double-edged blades that looked deadly sharp. Nico attacked without hesitation.

The three swords clashed with an impact that shook the entire castle. The tall goddess heaved Nico backwards. Her swords flashed toward him with frightening speed and Nico threw himself flat to avoid getting his head lopped off. The tall goddess stabbed downwards, missing him by an inch as he twisted desperately aside. She pulled her blades free, then a barrage of gunfire struck her from behind, rattling off her armour in a series of deafening impacts.

Jordan swallowed as the goddess turned towards him and started forward, murder in her eyes. The assault rifle ran out of bullets and he switched to his shotgun, the heavy blasts ricocheting off her without even a scratch. He dropped the gun as she closed to within two metres of him, swearing, and slapped his wrists.

"Aegis!"

Two Celestial bronze shields spiralled out from the watches on his wrists. He raised his arms into a fighting stance just as the goddess hacked down at him.

The first sword dented his left shield as it bounced off. A shock ran down his arm and Jordan's eyes widened as he took a step back, dropping his right arm to cover his midsection as the goddess's second blade swept low. The impact rang like a bell. Jordan's whole arm went numb. He swung with his left shield, trying to catch the goddess across the face, then ducked and punched with his right. Both attacks were swatted aside the goddess's swords, leaving deep notches in the edges of his shields. The goddess retaliated in a whirlwind of strikes and Jordan pulled up his shields to protect himself, struggling to keep his arms up. The Celestial bronze surface dented and tore under the repeated heavy impacts.

Nico recovered and lunged, stabbing the goddess in the back of her knee. The goddess howled in pain, turned and backswung with her sword, catching Nico across the face and sending him sprawling. The helm of darkness, which had saved his life, now sported a jagged gash across its forehead. Nico raised his sword and managed to fend off a second strike, wide-eyed with shock.

Jordan charged, trying to catch the goddess off-guard. The goddess turned back to him, swatted his shield aside and kicked him in the chest. Jordan went airborne, skidding across the icy roof and crashing into the remains of the stairwell.

The goddess was faster than anyone Jordan had ever faced. He gasped for breath as he picked himself up, his shields now reduced to jagged chunks of metal strapped to his wrists.

 _Impossible,_ he thought. He'd designed the shields specifically to withstand attacks from immortal beings, yet this goddess had managed to hack them into scrap within a few minutes of fighting.

Lisa watched the action unfold on the cockpit screen, gripping and re-gripping the controls as she thought desperately for a way to help her brother. The _Javelin_ 's weapons were too large to be used against a single target. She could not open fire without risk of hitting Nico and Jordan. She didn't dare descend to a lower altitude; Khione would blow her off-course as soon as she came within range of her storms.

Something moved in cockpit window's reflection. Lisa spun around.

"It's you." Thalia, standing in the doorway, blinked at her, surprised. Lisa's eyes widened.

"You're awake!"

"Yeah." Thalia came to her side. "Shit." she said as she caught sight of what was on the screen.

"Who _is_ that?" Lisa asked.

"Selene." Thalia's eyes, normally bright blue, were hard and dark.

"The Titan of the moon?" Lisa said, baffled. "But I thought she'd faded millennia ago."

"They must have brought her back somehow," Thalia shook her head. "And in Alaska of all places. We're out of our league."

"She's wiping the floor with them. We have to do something!"

"No way are we able to fight her, now that she's risen." Thalia shook her head. "At this point, our best bet is to get out of here alive. She's too powerful."

"That storm will blow us away once we come into range." Lisa pointed to the swirling winds below. "How are we going to rescue them?"

"Maybe I can do something about that." Thalia strapped herself into one of the chairs. "Can you fly this thing?"


	20. Chapter 20

Selene stared disdainfully at the two battered demigods. "You're nothing but a waste of my time."

Nico got to his feet and lifted his sword. "I could do this all day."

"You think you can stand up to me just because you wield your father's sword?" Selene sneered. "You're a mortal. You can only wield a fraction of the sword's full power. Nowhere near enough to defeat me."

Nico smiled. "Good thing I brought some friends too."

A portal opened in front of the goddess, a swirling circle of green energy the size of a house. Alabaster stepped through, glowing a brilliant green like he'd been supercharged with Demeter's magical chlorophyll pack. "'Sup."

Selene threw back her head and laughed. "You think a son of Hecate can defeat me?"

"I'm offended." Alabaster frowned. "But honestly, I'm just the doorman."

He stepped aside just as a second figure came hurtling through the portal, a tall, muscular young man in a purple winter jacket, holding a two-metre javelin crackling with electricity aimed straight at her.

" _Stulti carcer,"_ Alabaster yelled.

Caught off-guard and slowed by the spell, Selene only managed to raise her swords before Jason Grace drove the javelin into the centre of her chest.

The impact shook the entire castle from bottom to top. Cracks appeared across the towering walls. Blinding light exploded out. Everybody reeled away, deafened and senseless. In the distance, snow trickled down the side of the mountains, dislodged by the force of the explosion.

The explosion lasted only a second, leaving leaving their eyes burning and their ears ringing. Slowly, their senses returned. Jordan, whose helmet had automatically shut its eyeholes and earholes upon registering the massive blast, cracked his eyes open, taking in the scene on the roof.

Selene was gone, vaporised, presumably, by the power of the explosion. Nico and Alabaster, shielded by the sword of Hades and a magical aura respectively, were standing like statues, blinking spots out of their eyes.

Jason Grace hovered above the centre of the roof like a blond Superman, looking every inch the poster-boy son of Zeus he was. An Imperial gold gladius hung by his side. His whole body crackled with electricity. The javelin in his hands shone so brightly that Jordan had to avert his gaze. His eyes widened.

"That isn't-"

"The Master Bolt." Alabaster grinned. "I stole the most powerful weapon in the universe from under Zeus's nose."

Jordan shook his head in disbelief. "He's going to kill you for that."

"He _already_ wants to kill me," Alabaster scoffed.

"Looks like we're done here," Jason turned in the air, like he was searching for something. "Where's my sister?"

Lanesra, who'd taken cover behind the altar, suddenly leaped out. "Look out!" she screamed.

Selene materialised at the exact spot where she'd vanished, murder in her eyes. Before any of them could react she leapt toward Jason, swords outstretched.

Jason spun around, swinging the javelin out blindly.

A second thunderous discharge shook the Alaskan plain. Selene went flying into the side of the opposite wall so hard that she stuck in it, cracks spiderwebbing across the icy surface.

"Good one," Jordan said, then he spotted the two swords sticking out of Jason's chest. "Oh, no."

Jason fell to his knees, his mouth open in a silent scream. The Master Bolt clattered out of his hands.

"No!" Nico ran to his side, slid to the ground beside him. "No, no, no."

Thunder shook the air. The _Javelin_ materialised directly above them. The platform lowered and Thalia ran out of the ship. She dropped to the ground beside him, cradling his head in her hands.

"Jason, stay with me." she begged.

But Jason's eyes were glassy and unseeing. He slumped against her.

"No, Jason, you can't go," Thalia gasped. "You can't go." She raised her eyes to Nico, pleading silently.

"Nectar and ambrosia," Nico barked. "Now!"

"Move." Alabaster pushed Nico aside, kneeling beside the fallen demigod.

"Can't believe I'm doing this for a son of Zeus." he muttered. He placed a glowing green hand on Jason's chest. "I've managed to slow the bleeding, but we need to get him to an infirmary."

"I have medical equipment on my ship." Jordan took charge. "Let's get him inside."

Thalia and Nico lifted him up, careful to avoid the wound.

"Heads up, she's still moving." Alabaster stared at the side of the wall, where Selene was starting to pull herself out of the hole she'd made in the wall.

Jordan turned to the _Javelin,_ saw the platform lift into the underbelly, bearing Thalia, Jason and Nico safely into its armoured hull.

"Lisa, fire!" Jordan pointed at the struggling goddess. "Fire everything!"

"Take cover!" Alabaster erected a barrier of green energy, shielding them from the impending wave of shrapnel.

The _Javelin_ swung towards the wall, weapons unfolding out of its hull. A volley of missiles, artillery shells and tracer rounds streaked towards the goddess, demolishing the wall in a series of thunderous explosions. Lisa continued to fire even as the wall came crashing down, pounding the pile of collapsed ice with rockets and shells.

The wind howled in response. The _Javelin_ 's engines roared, fighting to remain upright against the sudden gale.

"Khione." Jordan growled.

"I've got it this time." Alabaster thrust his fist up toward the sky. " _Persequor vestigium!_ "

A flash of green lit up the sky. Khione materialised on the rooftop, looking surprised. "How-"

Jordan blew her head off with a shotgun blast, an explosion of snow rolling out from where her head used to be. He drew his sword and charged.

Khione's head reformed, her features contorted with fury.

"Back!" she screamed.

A wave of sleet hit Jordan in the face, knocking him off his feet. He smacked into the parapet running along the edge of the roof, almost crashing through it. The blast was so powerful that even the _Javelin_ was knocked out of the air. Jordan gaped in disbelief as his precious aircraft careened into the nearest wall, bouncing off with a giant CRACK. The _Javelin_ crashed to the ground several hundred metres from the outer wall in an avalanche of snow and broken ice.

"You insufferable demigods," Khione snarled. "I'll-"

A blast of green energy hit her in the chest, throwing her to the ground.

"Bitch!" Alabaster yelled. He took a flying leap, bringing his fist down onto her with the force of a pile-driver. The disintegrating roof gave way under the impact and they both fell through to the floor below.

Khione's eyes rattled in her head. Alabaster punched her in the face, cracking the floor under her. Khione brought her arm up to swat him away just as Alabaster lined up a massive energy blast.

Twin blasts of white and green illuminated the castle from within. A series of cracking noises echoed across the castle as Khione fell through the remaining floors of the ice building. Alabaster came flying out of the hole in the roof and crashed down onto the remains of the destroyed altar, looking stunned.

"What happened?" Jordan picked himself up, walked over to stare down at his friend.

"What d'you think?" Alabaster's brilliant green aura dimmed significantly as he sat up, grimacing. "I punched the lights out of her."

"Not the other way around?" Jordan gave him a hand up.

"No," Alabaster rolled his shoulders, testing them. "She won't be getting up anytime soon."

"It's not her I'm worried about." Jordan looked from the pile of rubble where they'd buried Selene under, to the _Javelin_ steaming in the middle of the Alaskan plain.

"Don't suppose your missiles did the trick." Alabaster joined him to stare at the collapsed wall.

"Not likely." Jordan shook his head.

"We'd best get back to your ship then." Alabaster picked up the Master Bolt and teleported them over.

The large aircraft, quite unsurprisingly, had landed on its belly. Stuck in the snow for the moment, the platform could not be lowered; the four demigods inside had no way of exiting the ship. Jordan patched himself into the ship's communication system.

"Everyone all right in there?"

"More or less," Nico's replied from inside. "Lisa broke her ankle when we went down."

"Engage a second core and fire the vertical thrusters." Jordan instructed. "That will lift the ship off the ground."

A dull _boom_ came from the ice castle. Jordan and Alabaster turned to see chunks of ice the size of houses tossed into the air like Lego bricks. They shared a look.

"That's from the collapsed wall," Jordan guessed.

"Actually, could you guys come outside for a second?" Alabaster asked through his comlink. "We might need a hand."

Nico materialised beside them in a swirl of black. "What seems to be the problem?"

" _That_ is." Jordan pointed to the castle.

Monsters were marching out of the castle gate: gryphons and giants, six-armed Earthborn and shaggy grey wolves. Storm spirits gathered above the emerging army, transparent flying horses crackling with lightning. The enemy army would reach their position within minutes.

Alabaster gave Jordan a glance. "Don't suppose you have any more friends to call up."

"I thought you had this covered." Jordan replied.

"Not after banging Khione through her castle. Hecate only gave me one potion." He winced. "That came out wrong."

"So wrong." Nico shook his head.

"So what are we going to do about that?" Jordan pointed at the approaching monsters.

"Fire up the _Javelin_ and blow them to bits," Alabaster suggested.

"Not enough time," Jordan said. "The vertical thrusters are buried in snow."

"We'll have to do it the old fashioned way then." Alabaster raised his arms into a fighting stance.

Nico sighed. "You simpletons. You forget who you're travelling with."

He stabbed the sword of Hades into the snow. "Rise."

A crevice opened in the earth between them and the approaching army, a fifty-metre fissure that grew wider each second. The advancing monsters slowed to a stop as skeletons clawed their way to the surface, hundreds of undead warriors carrying swords, spears and shields. They formed up in front of the fissure, standing shoulder-to-shoulder in a classic Greek phalanx, spears bristling over the top of a shield wall.

A streak of silver came hurtling down at the head of the monster army, landing on the ground so hard that it threw up an explosion of snow.

"There she is," Alabaster said laconically.

Selene stepped out of the small crater she'd created, glaring through the ranks of skeletons straight at them. Despite being a hundred metres away the message in her eyes was clear: she would kill them right here and now.

"ATTACK!" Her howl echoed across the plain like a war horn. A roar went up from the monster army as they surged forward.

Nico raised his sword in response, pointing it straight at the enemy force. As one, his skeleton phalanx broke into a fast march forward. A thousand spears went up on both sides as the two armies closed, a rain of death that battered down the first eager ranks.

"What idiots," Nico muttered.

Lacking flesh, his skeleton army was completely immune to spears and arrows. All along the line, skeletons pulled spears out of their empty ribcages and sockets, sending them back at the monsters with deadly aim.

The artillery on the castle walls opened fire. A wave of ballistae bolts and iron balls crashed into the skeletons' closely-packed ranks, sending them flying like rag dolls. Explosions erupted where each projectile landed, gouging craters in the snow that burned with a familiar green flame.

"Everyone has Greek fire these days," Jordan sighed.

Nico thrust his sword at the enemy line and his skeletons broke into a fast run, covering the last few metres before the artillery could reload.

The monsters howled enough to fill the world and raced at the skeletons. The two sides clashed in an explosion of noise that seemed to dull the sounds after.

The monster army's mixed force gave way against the skeletons' organised ranks. Skeleton archers fired at the gryphons and storm spirits. The skeleton line ground forward, pushing the monsters back towards the castle wall.

Hyperborean giants entered the battle, trampling smaller monsters underfoot as they charged forward. Each one carried a massive club made from tree trunks. They smashed the skeletons aside with powerful blows, opening great gaps in their shield wall.

"Shoot them!" Nico ordered.

The skeletal archers switched their aim. The Hyperboreans stumbled backwards, suddenly overwhelmed by the hundreds of flying shafts that stung like hornets. Several disintegrated. Others were swarmed by the skeletons and hacked apart.

With the sky free of arrows, the gryphons and storm spirits swooped in to strafe the skeletons. The undead ranks broke into chaos as the monster army counterattacked, fighting their way through the broken shield wall. The skeleton army was overwhelmed, but continued to fight, clawing at the monsters with swords, spears and anything else they could get their hands on, even pulling out their own ribs to stab at the enemy.

More skeletons continued to crawl out of the fissure. Some ran like banshees straight into the fight. Others lined shoulder-to-shoulder in front of the crevice to form a new shield wall.

"Nice." Jordan nodded approval at Nico's tactics. The running banshees would keep the monsters occupied while the new line formed. Once that line was ready, they would march in to finish the monsters off.

But they had not taken Selene into account. The Titan of the moon shot straight through the battle toward them, ploughing through monsters and skeletons out of her path indiscriminately. The new skeleton line levelled their spears, but she blasted through the formed ranks like a bowling ball, scattering a dozen skeletons like rag dolls.

"Oh boy," Nico raised his sword. Alabaster's fists blazed with green energy. Jordan raised his half-broken shields.

At the last second, Selene vanished, reappearing directly above them. Jordan yelled and rolled aside as she brought her sword down with the force of a pile-driver. Alabaster blasted her with green energy and she slashed at him, opening a deep gash across the protective energy on his chest and sending him flying backwards.

Nico darted around Alabaster and brought his sword down. Selene parried and riposted fast. The blades clashed and sparked, sending shockwaves through the air every time they met.

Jordan ran to one side and opened fire with his assault rifle, trying to draw her attention. Selene whipped her sword at him. A burst of silver energy blasted out from the tip of her blade and hit him in the chest, throwing him to the ground. Selene kicked Nico in the face, sending him sprawling.

Alabaster came rocketing in Superman-style behind Nico, crashing his fist into Selene's face. Both of them went tumbling into the snow. Alabaster blasted Selene with green energy. Selene grabbed hold of him and flung him against the _Javelin_ 's hull. He twisted aside as she brought her blade down, half-managing to avoid the blow; her sword pierced through the protective energy encasing his side, grazing his ribs.

Jordan brought his tomahawk down on her helmet, sending a shock running down his arm. It felt like he was hacking at a chunk of rock, but he ignored the pain, trying to stab her with the jagged edge of one of his shields. Selene swatted him away, sending him flying into the snow. She kicked Alabaster in the crotch, punched him in the gut and threw him into the side of the nearest engine. Alabaster flopped to the ground like a rag doll.

Jordan sprang to his feet in time to meet Selene's first strike. A jagged chunk of metal flew from his shield as it intercepted Selene's sword. The force of the blow forced him to his knees. Selene parried his tomahawk, twisted it out of his hand and hacked down again. Jordan slammed the blade aside with his broken shield and drove the jagged chunk of metal into her midsection. Selene punched him in the face so hard that his helmet cracked. Jordan reeled backwards, half-stunned by the powerful blow.

"Jordan!" Alabaster had managed to lever himself to his feet. "Catch!" He slid a sword across the snow towards him.

Selene hacked down and Jordan threw up his left arm, grunting as the shock ran up his shoulder. With his other hand he caught the sword.

The moment his hand closed around the hilt, everything changed. His thoughts cleared. His senses sharpened. The pain vanished from his arms. A rush of energy went through him as if he'd been plugged into a human power socket.

He brought the sword up in time to intercept Selene's next strike. To both their surprise, he stopped Selene's blade cold.

"What?" The Titan looked stunned. "How-"

Jordan twisted her blade aside, surged to his feet and lunged. All his previous attacks had done no more than scratch the surface of her armour, but this time the blade pierced her helmet, drawing blood. The sword felt perfectly weighted in his hand, flickering with a powerful aura.

He went on the attack, lunging with the sword. Selene parried and riposted fast. Jordan threw up his damaged shield and cried out in alarm as the blade pierced through it, sticking in the shield like kebab skewer.

 _Counterattack,_ Athena's voice spoke in his mind. _Every move can be exploited._

A rush of confidence filled his veins. He twisted his arm outwards, wrenching the sword out of Selene's grip, and slashed down, opening her exposed upper arm to the bone. Selene howled as golden ichor ran down her arm. Jordan struck again, forcing Selene to duck under the glowing blade. He pressed forward relentlessly, each strike flowing into the next, shifting into the fluid Greek fighting style that he'd spent all his life practicing but had never been able to master.

 _You are my son,_ Athena's voice seemed to fill him with strength. _My sword._

All his life, he'd struggled for her approval. He'd fought through the second Titan and Giant wars, served in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria, trying to prove himself. He'd always felt inadequate, even when he moved to Alaska and made his home in the land where an entire Roman legion had died.

Now he realised: Athena _was_ proud of him. There had never been any need to prove himself. His mother had believed in him from the beginning. The thought filled him with new strength, tripling his skill. He lunged onto one knee, trying to hamstring Selene. Selene batted his attack away with one sword, struck with the other. Jordan deflected the counter-strike with his left shield, then Nico di Angelo materialised behind the Titan and stabbed her in the back.

The roar that followed made the Master Bolt look like a firecracker. The very air was blasted back from Selene, throwing them all backwards. Jordan and Nico went flying. The _Javelin,_ which had just started to lift out of the snow, was sent flipping end-over-end like a toy.

"Bollocks," Nico yelled. He shadow-travelled out of the air, landing on his feet, then Jordan collided into him and they both went sprawling.

Alabaster righted himself in midair, landed safely on the ground beside them.

"You should learn to fly."

" _You_ should learn to catch us." Nico groaned.

"Yeah," Alabaster stumbled slightly. "Still working on that." The protective energy encasing his body was barely visible, flickering faintly like a faulty neon sign. Blood from his wound soaked the side of his shirt and trouser leg. He was clearly struggling. "Er, where's your sword?"

Jordan raised his hands, baffled. "Must've dropped it in the explosion."

"I've lost mine too." Nico turned in place. "Don't see it anywhere."

"Oh," Alabaster's voice was suddenly small. "I think I've found it."

They all turned to follow his gaze.

Fifty metres away, Selene pulled both blades out of her body, doubling over with agony.

"I thought your sword was supposed to send her to Tartarus," Jordan growled.

"Unless she now wields that sword, yeah." Nico swallowed. "Any other weapons you managed to get from Olympus?" he asked Alabaster."

Alabaster struggled to think through his exhaustion. "Um, yeah. But I need a hunter."

"Thalia, get out here, we need you." Jordan spoke through the ship's intercom.

"Tell her to hurry up." Alabaster said.

Selene was hefting the two swords in her hand, as if judging their usefulness. Then she turned to them. "I'm going to-"

She was abruptly cut off as a missile struck the ground right next to her, enveloping her in a glowing green fireball. The _Javelin_ steadied itself, levelled its cannon barrel straight at the centre of the flames. The platform lowered, Thalia standing in its centre. But instead of leaping off she hesitated, staring down at the snow.

"Get over here!" Alabaster yelled. "I've got a present for you!" He lifted the weapon, a large silver longbow.

Still Thalia hesitated, still as a statue.

"What in the world is she doing?" Jordan growled.

"Look out!" Nico yelled.

A beam of silver energy lanced out from the centre of the green flames, striking the _Javelin_ 's hull. The aircraft wobbled in the air and Thalia screamed as she fell off the platform.

The _Javelin_ returned fire with its cannon, churning the ground around Selene into an inferno of fire and soot.

"We need to help." Nico said.

"Without those swords we're as good as dead." Jordan argued.

"So we get them back before she uses them to kill us." Nico grabbed Jordan's shoulder. "You're immune to fire. I'll shadow-travel you into the flames so you can sneak up behind her."

"And do what? Tickle her?"

"You have a better idea?"

"No." Jordan snarled.

"Then shut up." Nico tightened his grip on his shoulder and his surroundings vanished into darkness.

He appeared behind Selene just as the goddess fired again. This time her energy beam struck the _Javelin_ 's cannon, blowing it up.

Selene raised the two swords and laughed. "With these swords, I am invincible!" She plunged the sword of Hades into the snow. "Come forth, my legions!"

The snow shifted. Hands grasped their way to the surface, some large and monstrous, others clawed like animals'. Nico's eyes widened as the entire Alaskan plain started to sprout monsters like grain.

"She's using the sword to summon armies out of Tartarus!" He made a grabbing motion toward her, trying to wrest the sword from her grasp.

The sword of Hades responded, pulling itself out of the snow towards Nico, dragging Selene off her feet. Selene pulled back, snarling.

Sensing an opportunity, Jordan ran in the opposite direction and thrust his hand out. The glowing sword responded and caught Selene by surprise, almost yanking itself out of her grip.

Alabaster flew to Thalia's side, handed her the bow. "Shoot her!"

Thalia's eyes widened in surprise. "This is Artemis's bow!"

"Just shoot her!" Alabaster pointed towards Selene, who, unwilling to relinquish either of the swords, was effectively pinned in place by Jordan and Nico's tug-of-war.

Thalia lifted the bow into a shooting position. She flexed her arm, trying to pull back the string, but it didn't move. "I can't draw it."

"What do you mean, you can't?" Alabaster couldn't process her words. "You're Artemis's hunter! Her Lieutenant!"

"I…" A tear ran down Thalia's face. "I'm not a hunter anymore."

"What?" Alabaster had no idea what she was saying. "Why?"

"For Olympus's sake, just do something!" Jordan yelled. The of monsters were clawing their way to the surface. Within seconds they'd be overwhelmed.

A short distance away, half-buried in the snow, lay the Master Bolt, forgotten by everyone amidst the chaos of battle. It lifted out of the snow, crackling with electricity, then shot towards them, whizzing past Selene's ear like a large, buzzing insect. Everybody's eyes followed it as it flew straight towards Thalia, who noticed it just in time to drop the bow and catch it out of the air.

"Oh, this shit's about to get real." Nico muttered.

The Master Bolt's electric current seemed to transfer itself to Thalia. Her whole body crackled with electricity. Her eyes turned blinding white like lightning, and turned to stare straight at Selene. The Titan swallowed.

Thunder shook the sky. With blinding speed, Thalia covered the ten metres between her and Selene in a single leap and brought the lightning bolt down on her head.

The blast lit up the world. The entire plain shook. Jordan and Nico looked away, grimacing, then out of the blinding flash, their swords came flying into their hands. When the light faded, Selene was gone.

"Where'd she go this time?" Jordan roared.

"There!" Alabaster pointed to the ice castle far in the distance. Jordan zoomed in on the wall using his helmet's zoom function and realised that Selene had been blasted all the way back into the wall, lodged in its surface like a stone in a sandcastle. As he watched, she started to pull her way out.

"She's getting away!" he yelled.

"Throw the bolt," Nico suggested.

Thalia shook her head. "It won't go that far. We need to use Artemis's bow."

"But who-" Jordan's argument was cut off by the sound of the _Javelin_ 's platform lowering once more, this time bearing Lisa van Staal, leaning heavily on her good leg.

"The last hunter," Jordan suddenly remembered what Selene had mentioned on the rooftop. She'd wanted _all_ the hunters dead. Now Jordan knew why. With Artemis herself unavailable in Alaska, only her hunters had the power to destroy Selene, and now the only hunter left was about to deliver the finishing blow.

Alabaster handed the bow to Lisa. Lisa raised it into a firing position, drew back the string, then shook her head. "The platform's shaking too much. It's affecting my aim."

"Stand on the ground." Alabaster trudged through the snow to the platform and held his hands up to her. "I'll help you down."

Lisa swallowed and stepped off the platform. Alabaster caught her easily, but a strangled gasp left her lips as her broken ankle landed in the snow. She clung to Alabaster instinctively.

"What is it?" he asked.

"My ankle." Lisa's voice was ragged with pain. "I can't. It's too painful."

Alabaster pulled her back, looked into her face. "You can. You have to."

Gently, he extricated himself from her, held her by the shoulders. "Make the shot. I'll support your weight."

Lisa swallowed hard, her jaw trembling. She lifted her arm, pulled the bow back. Three arrows appeared in the rest, flickering with silver flames.

"It hurts," she whimpered. Her body was rigid with pain.

"It's alright." Alabaster kissed her cheek, muttered a healing spell. "Do it for your sisters."

Lisa straightened minutely. She fired.

The three arrows screamed across the Alaskan plain, leaving blazing silvery trails like fireworks. A collective _oooh_ went up from all the monsters as they stopped to stare at the sparkling lines.

Jordan stared at Selene through his helmet visor, saw her pull herself out of the broken wall with one arm.

Then the three arrows struck her chest in a starburst of silver sparkles.

"YES!" he clenched his fists in triumph.

The wall imploded under the force of the explosion, crumbling to the ground in an avalanche of cascading ice. The monster army howled in fury as they saw their mistress disappear beneath the ice. Slowly, their thousands of gazes turned to the group of demigods beside the hovering aircraft.

"Six of us against six thousand of them," Jordan used his helmet's scanner to tally the numbers of the enemy.

"Bad odds," Thalia said. "For them."

The monsters charged towards them from all sides, waving clubs and spears.

Nico raised his sword, looking extremely irritated under his helmet. "What a big waste of my time."


	21. Chapter 21

The demigods' boots made soft sounds in the snow as they walked towards the remains of the castle. It had stopped snowing some time during the last battle. They hadn't noticed. They'd been busy.

The sun was beginning to set, casting patches of shadow across the upturned, ravaged snow on the Alaskan plain. High in the sky, the _Aurora Borealis_ was beginning to show, growing brighter and stronger as the sky darkened.

The ice castle was in ruins, levelled by the _Javelin_ 's rockets at the beginning of the battle. The ballistae and onagers had caused them some problems in the beginning until Lisa had turned the _Javelin_ 's arsenal on them. After they had been destroyed, it only seemed natural to carry on firing until the entire castle was demolished.

Ice crunched under their feet as they came to the foot of the wall. The broken chunks of ice didn't look stable enough to climb, so Thalia blasted them out of the way with the Master Bolt.

Steam curled around them as they walked into the newly-made breach. The metallic scent of lightning hung in the air. The Master Bolt crackled and hissed in Thalia's hands as if it wanted to strike again.

They found Selene lying in the gap between the wall and the inner building, the three silver arrows still sticking out of her chestplate. She gave a low moan as she spotted them, trying to crawl away.

Thalia took a flying leap into the air landing knee-first onto Selene's back. Selene cried out in pain as Thalia's weight slammed her to the ground.

"You're not getting away." Thalia growled.

"It's over." Jordan told Selene.

The Titan of the moon sneered at him. "Destroying me won't earn you any recognition, boy. You're just another pawn in their hands."

A day ago Jordan would have lashed out at such a remark, but now he knew better.

"I'm not looking for recognition. I know who I am."

"Then you're a fool."

"I'm a son of Athena."

" _I'm_ tired of Alaska. I want to go home." Nico stepped forward, raised his sword. "Any last words?"

"Wait." Thalia said.

"What now?" Nico asked, annoyed.

Thalia stared down at Selene, her eyes blinding white like lightning. "I won't let you go that easily." She raised the Master Bolt.

"Thalia, no." Jordan took a step toward her. "Destroying her won't bring the hunters back."

"No," Thalia agreed. "But they'll rest in peace knowing I've done them justice."

"This isn't justice," Jordan shook his head. "It's vengeance."

"Vengeance," Thalia said. "Is the only thing I've thought of for the last three days."

"Thalia, don't do this." Nico urged her. "It's not necessary."

"It is," A tear ran down her face. "You don't know what she did to me." Her face tightened with anger and she brought the Master Bolt down.

They laid the bodies of the fallen hunters on the tables in the coffee room, wrapped head-to-toe like mummies in clean white linen. The name of each girl was written on post-it stickers stuck to the linen, for lack of a better idea.

Jordan strapped himself into the pilot's chair in the cockpit and passed out after setting the autopilot on course for Camp Half-Blood. The _Javelin_ 's speed would enable them to arrive within half an hour, upon which it would hover, invisible, above the Greek Camp until he decided to land. With all that had happened, he thought it best to get out of Alaska as quickly as possible.

Strapped into the second chair was Jason Grace, miraculously alive, but in critical condition due to blood loss and internal bleeding, made worse when he'd been thrown across the ship when it crashed. Nobody knew if he would live or die, and all of them were afraid to even think about it.

The rest of them crashed in the living room. Alabaster, who'd passed out after using up the last of his magic reserves on Lisa's ankle, was tucked into Jordan's upper bunk. Lisa had carried him back to the ship after the battle had ended.

Lisa herself was sprawled on one side of the couch, feet propped up on the coffee table. Thalia took the other side, while Nico, left without a sleeping space, unrolled a sleeping bag on the floor and curled up in it.

Lanesra, the one person they'd managed to rescue from Selene's clutches, was in the lower bunk, bandaged all over like a half-wrapped mummy.

All of them had been too tired to remove their armour or take a shower. With the weapons hanging at their sides and snow-spattered clothes, they looked like a group of teens who'd passed out after a Halloween party.

That night in his dreams, Jordan found himself in Athena's flower garden.

"Mother?" He knew his consciousness hadn't wandered back to the garden by accident. Athena had summoned him.

"You did well, my son." Athena was seated at a stone table, dressed in a simple grey t-shirt and jeans.

"Did well?" Jordan walked over to the table. "We set out to rescue _all_ the hunters. Now there are only three left." he said bitterly. "Three!"

"You destroyed Selene and Khione, did you not?" Athena reminded him. "You broke an uprising before it even began."

"They killed twelve hunters!" Jordan shouted.

"Victory comes at a price." Athena was remained impassive. "Imagine if the uprising had been allowed to gain strength. It would have been ten times worse."

"We should have done more." Jordan's voice was filled with anguish.

"You did all you could," Athena said gently. "Sometimes that just isn't enough. You know this better than anyone."

Jordan turned away to scowl at the flowers, hating that she was right.

"I thought you couldn't speak to me in Alaska," he turned back to her at last.

"I can't," Athena agreed.

"But you did. When I fought Selene."

Athena shook her head. "It could not possibly have been me."

"Then how-" Jordan didn't understand what was going on, and he hated not being able to understand. He played the sequence of the fight back in his mind, trying to recall what had happened. The voice had been Athena's. He was certain. He'd definitely heard it when he…

He reached to his waist, somehow knowing that the sword would be there. He drew it out.

"Ah." Athena nodded in understanding.

"What is it?" Jordan asked.

"You heard the direction of my sword."

"Your-" Jordan thought he must have misheard. _Her_ sword?

 _Alabaster got this from Olympus._ The realisation hit him at once. His eyes grew wide as the _Javelin_ 's cannon muzzles.

"This is _your_ sword?"

Athena nodded. "It is a part of me. It contains part of my immortal essence, so, in a way, I was there with you in the battle."

"But…" Jordan couldn't comprehend what she was saying. "How in the world did he manage to steal _your sword_?"

"He didn't steal it." Athena said simply. "I gave it to him. I knew you would need it."

Jordan's eyes widened even further. All his life he'd dreamed of the day she finally commended him, but never in his wildest dreams had he ever imagined that Athena would _help_ him.

"Why?" he asked. "Why did you help me?"

"Did you not hear my voice during the battle?" Athena's stormy grey eyes fixed on his. "You are my sword."

The words seemed to resonate within him. Jordan struggled for a reply.

"Why me?"

"Why _not_ you?" Athena regarded him calmly, a sharp contrast to the shock and disbelief on his face.

"I-I'm not the best. Annabeth Chase-"

"I would have given it to her already if I thought she was worthy."

"You picked _me?_ " Jordan was stunned. "Over _her?_ "

"Why does that surprise you?"

"She's _better_ than me," Jordan stammered. "She survived Tartarus!"

"Strength is not everything. It never was. And it is precisely because of all she has achieved that I could not give it to her." Athena shook her head. "She is mortal, for all her merits, and mortals have their limits. She has reached hers'."

Jordan looked down at the sword, feeling the power radiating from it even in his dreams. "So now that we've defeated Selene, I suppose you want it back."

"No."

"No?" Jordan blinked. "Why not? Isn't it over?"

"Over?" Athena piercing eyes fixed him with a stare. "Who said it was over?"

"You mean she's still out there?" Jordan's hand unconsciously tightened on the handle of the sword. "I thought Nico banished her back to Tartarus. Unless…you're not referring to Selene."

"Danger comes from many directions, often where you least expect it." Athena warned. "You must be ready, Jordan. Gather your allies. No one is an island."

And on that happy note, his dream faded to black.

Jordan woke first, stiff and sore from the exertions of the day before. He groaned as he sat up, spasms of pain running up his back, shoulders and ankles. He must have injured them sometime during the fight, he thought. Probably against Selene. Muttering unhappily, he walked through the coffee room and into the living room, swearing when he found the bathroom door locked.

"Hurry up!" he slammed his fist into the door.

"Shut up," Nico's voice came from inside. "I'm wiping my arse."

"Close the lid before you flush!" Jordan told him. "Otherwise all the toilet paper will be sucked out of the ship again."

Showered, shaved and sparkling clean, Jordan emerged from the bathroom to find that a queue had formed. A smile broke out on his face as he saw that Alabaster was the last one in the queue, behind Lisa, Thalia and Lanesra. Girls, he knew, took ages in the bathroom. Alabaster would be bursting at the seams by the time they came out.

"Took your time," Alabaster complained as Jordan walked out.

"It's my ship," Jordan grinned.

Once everyone had finished with the bathroom, Jordan opened the freezer to see if there was anything left to eat.

"I didn't pack for six people," he said apologetically.

"You have enough food in there for twenty, if I know you," Alabaster snorted.

The six of them ended up eating ham sandwiches around the coffee table in the living room, the three hunters taking the couch while Jordan, Nico and Alabaster sat on the floor. The silence stretched long after they'd finished eating. Jordan dug around in his freezer and came up with a pack of apples.

"How are we supposed to eat these?" Alabaster held up an apple, hard as ice.

"There's an oven, you idiot." Jordan snatched the apple out of his hands and marched off.

No one apart from Jordan himself had any appetite, or mood, left for the apples. The son of Athena grabbed one and threw the rest back into the freezer, biting into it as he sat back down.

"We've arrived at Camp Half-Blood. You can head down anytime you want to."

Nico got up immediately, leaving to bring Jason to the infirmary and report what had transpired in Alaska to Chiron. Alabaster scoffed at the thought of setting foot in Camp Half-Blood. The three hunters sat unmoving.

"They are grieving," Jordan said, his voice low. "We should leave them alone."

The two men walked into the coffee room, past the fallen hunters and into the cockpit.

"So what now?" Alabaster asked. "Will you go back to Alaska?"

"After what happened?" Jordan snorted. "Every monster in Alaska will be out for my blood. No way."

"Where, then?"

"I don't know. Somewhere quiet," Jordan sighed. "I hear Canada is a nice place."

"Brr. Too cold for me."

"What about you?" Jordan asked. "Back to the RV?"

"Of course," Alabaster shrugged.

"What about Lisa?"

Alabaster's eyes widened. "What about her?"

"You think I'm blind?" Jordan asked.

"No, of course not." Alabaster struggled for words. "You don't sound angry."

"Why should I?" Jordan shook his head. "It's time she grew up."

"But she's a hunter." Alabaster said.

Jordan snorted. "All the hunters are dead. Artemis herself has vanished. There isn't a hunt. Not anymore."

"I wish we could have done more." Alabaster shook his head, clasping his hands together. "For all our effort, we only managed to rescue two hunters."

"We did all we could," Jordan shrugged. "Sometimes that just isn't enough."

The sound of the platform activating came from the coffee room. A few seconds later, Nico walked into the cockpit.

Jordan swung his chair around to face him. "How's Jason?"

"Stable. He'll be out for a few weeks at least." Nico sat down in the third chair. "I'm going to summon a few skeletons to move the bodies out. Then we'll need to build a bigger shrine to house all of them."

"You do that," Jordan grunted. "Right now all I want is to fry myself the biggest pork I can steal from Camp Half-Blood."

"Pork chop." Alabaster corrected.

"Whatever."


End file.
